A third round of inter-Korean working-level military talks that was slated to be held in Seoul Monday has virtually broken down.

A military official in the South said Seoul had proposed on holding discussions last Tuesday to decide the venue and time for the military talks on removing loudspeaker batteries and other propaganda signboards near the South-North border.

However, the official said, Pyongyang had not responded to the proposal as of early Monday morning, virtually breaking down the scheduled working-level military discussions.

The official said such a move by the North to delay the military talks is apparently in protest to last Wednesday