N. Korea rebuffs border talks offer

North Korea has rebuffed an offer by South Korea to talk about its decision to suspend almost all cross-border crossings and projects, Seoul officials say.

After South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong offered to meet with Pyongyang to discuss the ramifications of the decision, Pyongyang responded by further detailing its moves to reduce hours available for border crossings and halving the number of South Koreans working at a joint tourism area, Yonhap, the South Korean news agency, reported Thursday.

The North Korean measures were set to take effect Monday, when Pyongyang says it will suspend sightseeing tours to the ancient border city of Kaesong and cut back on the employees allowed at a joint industrial complex there.

Analysts told Yonhap the North's moves are designed to punish President Lee Myung-bak for his hard-line policy toward Pyongyang.

I once again urge the North to reverse the measures, the unification minister said. They can never be justified because they run against the North's domestic law on the Kaesong industrial complex and agreements that have been signed between the two Koreas and customs of international law.

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