The presidential office will continue to persuade North Korea to allow liaison offices to be set up in the capitals of the two Koreas.

A Cheong Wa Dae official said Tuesday that Seoul will keep trying to get Pyongyang to warm up to the proposal made by President Lee Myung-bak during his visit to the United States two weeks ago.

The official dismissed reports that the proposal was made without consulting the Unification Ministry beforehand. The official stressed that Lee had coordinated views with the ministry.

The official’s comments come after the North rejected the proposal in a statement appearing in Monday's edition of a North Korean state-run newspaper. The paper called the idea outdated and anti-unification, accusing Lee of trying to avoid responsibility for worsening inter-Korean ties.