The government has reiterated that it is highly inappropriate for North Korea to blame Seoul for the failed attempt to organize joint events to mark the 15th anniversary of the June 15 Joint Declaration.
 
Unification Ministry Spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said in a regular news briefing on Friday that the North has been unresponsive to proposals for talks from the South Korean committee, in effect rejecting joint events for social and cultural inter-Korean exchanges.
 
Lim noted that for the first time in five years the government had permitted the South’s preparatory committee to hold contact with the North with the joint events gaining support and consensus from many South Koreans.
 
Lim went on to say that Seoul is abiding by all inter-Korean agreements, including the June 15th Joint Declaration and the July 4 South-North Joint Communique. He said once inter-Korean dialogue resumes, the South is willing to discuss ways to actively implement such accords.