(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-26 19:03

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Saturday turned down the South Korean president's proposal for setting up liaison offices in the capitals of the two Koreas.

The proposal is an attempt to permanently divide the Korean Peninsula, and it should be opposed and rebuked by the Korean people, the DPRK's leading newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary.

On April 17, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, during a visit to the United States, proposed the creation of the first liaison offices in the capitals of the two Koreas.

The commentary urged Lee to stick to the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, reached in 2000 and 2007 respectively by the leaders of the two countries.

During the past 10 years, the two Koreas made unprecedented strides toward reconciliation -- holding the first summit between the two countries in 2000, and reconnecting transportation links across the heavily armed frontier.

But relations between Pyongyang and Seoul have become more tense since South Korean conservative president Lee Myung-bak took office, who pledged to review rapprochement policies pursued by his two liberal predecessors.

On April 1, the DPRK blasted Lee's North policy, calling Lee a "traitor" and accussing him of "sycophancy" toward the US.

The DPRK also accused the South of planning a pre-emptive attack to the North and threatened to turn it into "ashes" in response.