South Korea pressed North Korea Monday to get more serious about the way it proposes talks between the sides, insisting that Pyongyang accept responsibility for its series of provocative acts.
North Korea proposed Saturday in a statement released through its official media that the two countries quickly hold talks to discuss ways to revive their stalled exchanges, a gesture apparently aimed at restoring the flow of economic support from the South.
Unification Ministry Chun Hae-sung said in a briefing that Pyongyang has yet to send a formal proposal to Seoul and that Saturday's statement falls short of being "a sincere overture, considering its form and content."
"Broadly speaking, it is important that the North shows a sincere attitude over peace on the Korean Peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean relations," he said.
Since North Korea bombarded a South Korean island on Nov. 23, killing four people, the South has tightened even the most humanitarian aid to its impoverished neighbor. Relations had already been at the worst point in years after Seoul blamed Pyongyang in May for the sinking of a warship earlier that year.
North Korea has also alarmed the world by unveiling what it claims is a sophisticated uranium enrichment facility that could give the North another way of making nuclear bombs. The North, which routinely repeats its willingness to denuclearize, claims the uranium program is intended for peaceful energy use.
"On denuclearization, the North should show (steps) not in word but in deed. On inter-Korean relations, it should take responsible measures that our people can accept over the Cheonan sinking and the Yeonpyeong Island shelling," Chun said.
In its New Year's message, the North had professed its intention to seek dialogue with the South to defuse tension that arose over the November shelling of Yeonpyeong, while warning of a "nuclear holocaust" should enmity between the sides continue to rise.
South Korea says it will not fall for a charm offensive that may be followed by more provocation. It has also stepped up its defense posture in a move aimed at better deterring North Korean attacks and even retaliating harshly should another provocation arise.