North Korea says talks depend on South Korea

North Korea said Wednesday that holding high-level inter-Korean talks depends on South Korea, according to Seoul's unification ministry.

North Korea's National Defence Commission sent a notice to South Korea's presidential national security office early Wednesday through the western military hotline, saying the South Korean government was in connivance with civilian groups, who had scattered anti-North Korean leaflets, Xinhua reported.

North Korea's top military body said it depended on South Korea whether to hold on to anti-North Korean leaflet distribution or to hold senior-level talks. It noted that South Korea was going in the direction of thwarting the agreed-upon inter-Korean dialogue.

North Korea Oct 4 agreed to a second round of high-level inter-Korean talks during the sudden visit of its three high-ranking officials to South Korea for the closing ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games. North Korea said South Korea could pick a date for the talks between late October and early November.

South Korea proposed Oct 15 the holding of senior-level dialogue Oct 30, but North Korea kept mum about the proposal as some South Korean civilian groups floated anti-North Korean leaflets across the border.

In response to the notice, the South Korean unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol told a press briefing Wednesday that the government has no legal ground to intervene in the civilian groups' floating of anti-North Korean leaflets, noting that Seoul has expressed its position on the issue several times in the past.

Lim said it was doubtful whether North Korea was willing to improve inter-Korean relations.

The spokesman expressed regret over the 'actual failure' to hold the high-level talks Oct 30, adding that the government could not accept North Korea's unjustifiable demand despite Seoul's unwavering position that inter-Korean issues should be resolved via dialogue.