N.K. denounces Seoul over slow progress in implementing inter-Korean deals

All News 10:33 March 25, 2019

SEOUL, March 25 (Yonhap) -- North Korean propaganda outlets lashed out at South Korea on Monday over its stance of pushing forward with cross-border cooperation projects only within the framework of sanctions imposed on the communist nation.

Pyongyang has been ramping up calls for full-scale economic cooperation with South Korea, as their joint projects have hit a wall following the breakdown of the second summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi last month.

In an expression of discontent, the North withdrew its staff from an inter-Korean liaison office in the country's border city of Kaesong on Friday, though it stopped short of shutting down the office or expelling South Korean personnel.

Referring to Seoul's policy plan to push for cross-border projects within the framework of international sanctions, Uriminzokkiri, one of the North's propaganda outlets, said in a commentary that it is a "shameful remark" that lacks "self-esteem."

"Talking of cooperation projects under the framework of sanctions is an act neglecting promises, duties and respects as the party who signed the North-South agreements," the commentary said.

Meari, another propaganda website, ran a similar article saying that the two Koreas should never allow foreign interference in building peace on the Korean Peninsula.

"Improving North-South relations is by no means a matter to be approved by someone, much less to be done by the help of someone," the article said.

The outlets, however, refrained from direct criticism of the U.S.

North Korean media also remained silent on Pyongyang's withdrawal of staff from a liaison office run jointly with South Korea last week.

Relations between the South and the North made significant strides last year, with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Kim holding three summits, but the reconciliation process has reached a deadlock as the denuclearization negotiations between the North and the U.S. have made little progress.