The government has urged North Korea to stop slandering Seoul and return to inter-Korean dialogue.

In a regular briefing on Monday, Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyoun said that the Minju Joson daily, published by the North Korean government, made offensive remarks about President Lee Myung-bak.

Kim stressed that Pyongyang’s criticisms were in direct violation of previous inter-Korean agreements.

In a New Year editorial jointly carried by state-run media outlets, North Korea also accused the South Korean government of failing to live up to agreements signed at inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007.