The newspaper of North Korea’s Workers' Party of Korea is denouncing South Korea's assessment of its own policies toward North Korea last year.

The Rodong Sinmun on Saturday also expressed concerns about inter-Korean relations for the current year, referring to the South Korean Unification Ministry's statement that Seoul's dealings with the North last year were based on principles.

The paper said Pyongyang is concerned that South Korean authorities will not attempt to improve South-North relations and, as a result, such relations would culminate in a confrontation.

The daily also urged the South to fully implement the June 15th Joint Declaration and abolish what it called “anti-unification” policies, including policies seeking the North’s denuclearization and the opening of its doors.

The paper also claimed that if South-North relations are to improve in earnest, narrow-minded confrontational thinking must be discarded and the pursuit of partisan interests must be overcome.