The much-anticipated inter-Korean governmental talks will not take place as previously scheduled on Wednesday and Thursday in Seoul.

A Unification Ministry official said Tuesday night that the talks would not be held since the two sides failed to narrow differences regarding who would represent each side.

A South Korean official said earlier in the day that liaison officers of Seoul and Pyongyang exchanged their lists of five delegates at 1 p.m., but the North raised an issue with the level of Seoul's chief negotiator.

The two sides had been working on finding a happy medium since the initial exchange through a direct telephone line.

The South Korean official refused to mention whom the two sides initially listed as delegates.

It's speculated that the South listed a deputy-ministerial official as its delegation chief. The South Korean government had considered lowering the level of its chief negotiator unless the North's delegation was led by the Director of the United Front Department of the ruling Workers' Party, Kim Yang-gon.