Park: North Korea failed to show sincerity for improving ties with South Korea

President Park Geun-hye said Tuesday that North Korea failed to show any sincerity towards improving soured relations with South Korea, a reflection of heightened cross-border tensions between the two sides, the Korean news agency Yonhap reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un offered to hold military talks between the two rival Koreas in an apparent move to ease military tension on the Korean Peninsula.

Still, he described North Korea as a "responsible" nuclear weapons state during the recent congress of the ruling Workers' Party, a clear sign that he has no intention of giving up its nuclear programs.

Last year, the two sides agreed to reduce military tension, though their relations have worsened as North Korea carried out its fourth nuclear test and a long-range rocket launch earlier this year.

"North Korea is continuing its threat of provocations by ignoring warnings from the international community ... while failing to show sincere changes to improve inter-Korean relations," Park said in a Cabinet meeting.

The president also blasted North Korea for claiming it is a nuclear state and for announcing its plan to strengthen its nuclear weapons capability. Seoul and the international community at large do not recognize the North as a nuclear power.

Source : MENA