South Korea has again rejected North Korea's attempts to hold face to face talks with a group of Koreans that defected to the South in February.

Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters Friday that the North Korean Red Cross sent a cable in the name of its chief Jang Jae-on proposing the talks.

Chun said that North Korea has already made these demands twice and that the ministry maintains that face to face measures are not appropriate. He added that the repatriation of the 27 other North Koreans followed principles of humanitarianism and free will.

In early February, 31 North Koreans drifted across the border on a fishing vessel. Four of them have expressed their wishes to stay in the South, while the others have returned to the North.