Pyongyang urges Seoul to take practical measures for dialogue

North Korea Wednesday urged South Korea to show its will to improve inter-Korean ties by taking practical measures and avoid escalation of tensions.

South Korean unification ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol Monday told a press briefing that if North Korea really has the will to resolve pending issues and improve inter-Korean relations, it should come to the dialogue table without repeating its wasting claims any more.

South Korean media outlets also expressed concerns that north-south dialogue may be hard to materialise thanks to no response from Pyongyang to Seoul's talks offer.

"This is an intolerable insult to the DPRK's (North Korea) sincere efforts to bring about a great change in the north-south relations in this significant year," the official KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.

"The South Korean authorities should not just pay lip-service to 'dialogue' and 'confidence' but make a bold decision to settle national issues and reunification issue with their fellow countrymen through frank discussions, free from the US's control, and show the will for the improvement of the relations by taking practical and trust-based measures," the spokesman stressed.

He also called on Seoul to stop acts that harm fellow countrymen and escalate tensions "by toeing the US Policy", Xinhua news agency reported citing KCNA.