N. Korea Rejects Inter-Korean Liaison Office

North Korea’s official daily Rodong Sinmun de facto rejected the inter-Korean liaison office that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had proposed, in its Saturday editorial.

According to North Korean Web site “Uriminjokkiri,” the central party newspaper criticized, “President Lee’s proposal is a gimmick to avoid his responsibility for worsening the North-South relationship and divert public attention to somewhere else.”

The newspaper claimed, “As soon as the Lee Myung-bak rogues gained power, they aligned with the United States and made policies against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and tried to overturn what had been achieved between the two Koreas after the June 15 agreement.”

It also used blunt expressions such as an “ignoramus,” a “political sleepwalker” and a “blockhead” to refer to President Lee.

South Korean presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said in a written briefing, “As (the president’s) proposal was not part of our North Korea strategies, we do not need to be affected by the North’s rejection.”

He urged Pyongyang to come forward seriously, saying, “The inter-Korean liaison office is conceived in need of a regular channel for conversation and cooperation between South and North Korea.”

kyle@donga.com