North Korea has rejected a proposal to allow a South Korean train to cross the North en route to Germany for the World Cup soccer finals.

Returning from a five-day visit to Pyongyang Thursday, Korea Railroad President Lee Chul told reporters that in inter-Korean talks, the North cited lack of preparation and security problems for its project.

The two Koreas did agree, however, on the need for linking inter-Korean railways and secured a channel to continue working-level talks on the matter.

The train would have left in May from South Korea's port city of Busan and cross through North Korea to reach Vladivostok, Russia. Passengers would then have taken the Trans-Siberian Railroad to Germany.