North Korea says South refusing real dialogue

North Korea said the South did not wish for an improvement of relations and that it no longer felt the need to engage with its neighbour after inter-Korean military talks collapsed, state media reported.

"In a situation where (they) do not wish for improvement of North-South relations and are refusing dialogue itself, our military and people no longer feel the need to be associated with the South," the KCNA state news agency quoted the delegate from the failed talks as saying.

Preliminary military talks between the neighbours broke down on Wednesday over agenda differences for a planned senior level meeting. The North Korean delegates abruptly walked out of the meeting on the second day.

Seoul said the offer for senior-level military talks still stood, but on the condition the North "takes responsible steps regarding" attacks last year.

A total of 50 South Koreans were killed last year in two attacks against the South. Seoul blames the North for torpedoing one of its warships in March, but Pyongyang denies any role. In November, the North bombarded a South Korean island.

The collapse of the inter-Korean talks have also dealt a setback to the resumption of international aid-for-disarmament negotiations, which have been stalled for over two years.

"Outwardly, they act as if they are interested in dialogue but on the inside they are refusing dialogue, blocking the reopening of six-party talks and blocking the flow of dialogue between countries surrounding the Korean peninsula," KCNA said.