North Korea lashed out at South Korea for the second day in a row on Friday, threatening to close an inter-Korean liaison office and calling the South naive to think the North wants dialogue and negotiations right now.
A spokesman for the United Front Department (UFD), which handles inter-Korea affairs, said North Korea would "definitely withdraw" from the liaison office operated with South Korean officials in the North Korean city of Kaesong as the first step in punishing the South for failing to stop defectors from sending leaflets across the border, according to a statement carried by state news agency KCNA.
The liaison office was one of several inter-Korea projects that were implemented during a period of detente between the two Koreas in 2018. Relations between the two countries have cooled again amid stalled talks over North Korea's nuclear weapons.