N Korea says inter-Korea talks worsened ties

North Korea on Tuesday described recent high-level talks with the South as a waste of time and a step backwards for cross-border relations, as both sides continued to blame each other for the dialogue’s failure.

The vice minister-level discussions on ways to improve ties – the first of their kind for nearly two years – ended Saturday night after two days of marathon negotiations, with no agreement and no commitment to meet again.

“The talks ... produced a result that is worse than having no talks at all and the prospect of the inter-Korea relations became even bleaker,” the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) – which handles cross-border ties – said in a statement.

Both sides have already traded accusations of blame for the failure of the talks, which underlined the depth of mutual mistrust and antagonism between the two rivals.

The North had focused on resuming lucrative, long-suspended South Korean tours to its scenic Mount Kumgang resort, while Seoul’s priority was to discuss setting up regular reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.The CPRK statement, carried by the North’s official KCNA news agency, accused the South Korean side of being condescending and framing Pyongyang’s demands as an attempt to extract economic benefits.