South Korea Regrets NoKor’s Unilateral Suspension of Talks

South Korea expressed regret over North Korea’s unilateral decision to cancel inter-Korean talks planned for Wednesday, calling on Pyongyang to return to dialogue as soon as possible.

Earlier in the day, the North’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said that Pyongyang has canceled the high-level talks with the South, citing the ongoing joint military drills between South Korea and the United States. It also threatened to cancel the summit with the US scheduled for June 12.

“It is regrettable that the North’s unilateral move to postpone the high-level inter-Korean talks, citing the annual South Korea-US air drills does not conform with the spirit and purpose of the agreements reached between the leaders of the two countries,” the unification ministry issued a statement in the name of its spokesman Baik Tae-hyun.

“The government remains strongly committed to faithfully implementing the Panmunjom Declaration and urges the North to come out for talks as soon as possible for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” it added, referring to the agreements reached during the April 27 summit between the two countries. (Yonhap)