Talks worsened ties with South – NKorea

SEOUL: North Korea on Tuesday described recent high-level talks with the South as a waste of time and a step backwards for cross-border relations, as both sides continued to blame each other for the dialogue’s failure.

The vice minister-level discussions on ways to improve ties -- the first of their kind for nearly two years -- ended Saturday night after two days of marathon negotiations, with no agreement and no commitment to meet again.