N. KOREA REJECTS S.KOREA'S PROPOSAL

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North Korea has rejected South Korea's call for working-level talks to discuss the issue of Mount Kumgang tourism. The North insisted on discussing a schedule for removing South Korean facilities at Kumgang by solely exchanging documents rather than through talks. This means Pyongyang has practically rejected possible plans to resume tourism to the scenic mountain.

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On Tuesday, Pyongyang sent a message, signed by the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Zone, to Seoul's Unification Ministry and Hyundai Asan Corporation. This comes a day after South Korea proposed working-level talks to discuss the Kumgang tourism issue. In the message, the regime said there is no need for separate talks and insisted on agreeing to a plan and timetable on the removal of South Korean facilities at Kumgang through the exchange of documents. The North has rejected the South's offer to hold face to face talks to discuss matters related to Kumgang tourism. The communist state also clarified the topic of the document exchange will be limited to the task of facility removal. All this appears to indicate Pyongyang is following leader Kim Jong-un's order to remove all South Korean built facilities at the mountain resort. In the notice to Hyundai Asan, the regime claims it is well aware the firm has exerted a great deal of effort to resume Kumgang tourism. But it went on to explain North Korea will develop the Kumgang area into a modern tourist and cultural district on its own. Pyongyang has also turned down Hyundai Asan's offer for discussions on exploring a new direction for the Kumgang zone. The South Korean government believes, as Kim Jong-un ordered consultations with Seoul in carrying out the process, it's unlikely the removal will happen without an agreement with the South. But Seoul remains cautious and emphasized it can't make projections.

[Soundbite] LEE SANG-MIN(SPOKESMAN, UNIFICATION MINISTRY) : "The gov't will seek the next steps in close consultation with the concerned party based on the principle that all inter-Korean issues should be resolved through dialogue."

The government's plan to resolve the Kumgang issue through "creative solutions" has now hit a wall with North Korea quickly rejecting Seoul's dialogue proposal.