North and South Korea blamed each other Thursday for talks being cancelled, dpa quoted media reports as saying. South Korea never had any intention of holding the meeting with representatives of North Korea this week, Pyongyang said, following the cancellation of a high-level meeting between the two neighbours, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported. South Korea's Ministry of Unification blamed the North's attitude for the cancellation of the talks. The meeting had been scheduled to begin on Wednesday in Seoul, but was called off Tuesday after the two sides failed agree on the make-up of their delegations. A spokesman for North Korea's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea, quoted by the official Korean Central News Agency, accused Seoul of "creating an obstacle" by taking issue with the rank of North Korea's top delegate. South Korea had refused to send a cabinet-level minister to the talks, as requested by Pyongyang. Seoul said it had tried to match the rank of North Korea's top delegate, Yonhap reported. Pyongyang would not seek dialogue with Seoul for the time being, the report said. Tensions have been high between North Korea and South Korea since the North carried out its third nuclear test on February 12. The test triggered condemnation from the international community and resulted in more sanctions against the reclusive state. The cancelled talks had been meant to focus on humanitarian questions and joint economic projects. North Korea shuttered a joint industrial complex, Kaesong, earlier this year as tensions ratcheted up.
