韓國將取消南北會談歸咎於朝鮮
South Korea's unification minister says the cancellation of high-level talks with the North is an unfortunate but necessary part of its new relationship with Pyongyang.
The talks, which were to be held Wednesday in Seoul, were called off at the last minute because of what appears to be a relatively minor disagreement over who would represent each country.
Unification minister Ryoo Kihl-jae said Wednesday the blame for the cancelled talks lies with the North, which he said must show sincerity if it wants improved relations with Seoul.
South Korean officials say the North refused to send officials to the talks because it was offended by the South's nomination of a vice-minister, rather than minister, as its chief delegate.
Just days earlier, Pyongyang had rejected Seoul's offer to hold minister-level negotiations, which the two Koreas have not held since 2007. There has been no public statement by the North on the status of the talks.
Seoul said Wednesday that North Korea is not answering an inter-governmental hotline that Pyongyang restored last week in an effort to coordinate the negotiations.韓國統一部部長柳吉在說，取消首爾與平壤的高層會談令人遺憾，但這是雙方新關係中的必要組成部分。
會談本來定於星期三在首爾舉行，但在最後一刻取消了會談計劃，看來原因是圍繞代表團團長人選問題的相對較小的分歧。
柳吉在星期三說，取消會談的責任在朝鮮方面。他表示，如果朝鮮希望改善與首爾的關係，就必須展示誠意。
韓國官員說，朝鮮拒絕派遣官員參加會談，原因是平壤對韓國任命一名副部長而不是部長擔任代表團團長感到不滿。
就在一天前，平壤拒絕接受首爾有關舉行部長級談判的提議。自2007年以來，韓國和朝鮮一直沒有舉行過部長級談判。朝鮮沒有就舉行會談事宜發表任何公開聲明。
首爾星期三表示，韓國使用了雙方政府間的熱線，但朝鮮方面沒有接聽。平壤上星期恢復了這一熱線，以便就談判事宜進行協調。
