The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, Seoul

North Korea has postponed the first inter-Korean dialogue of this year, citing time constraints, South Korean officials said Monday.

The two sides were to hold working-level talks Tuesday and Wednesday on repairing a cross-border railway and transporting a joint cheering squad to the Beijing Olympics this year by train.

But Pyongyang asked for a suspension, saying "It is the start of the year and there are a few things to prepare," the South's unification ministry said. "We don't know exactly why North Korea decided to suspend this week's inter-Korean meeting," a ministry spokesman told AFP.

He refused to confirm Yonhap news agency's report that the suspension was an apparent sign of uneasiness over the next South Korean government's tougher stance on Pyongyang.

The transition team of president-elect Lee Myung-Bak said last week it would shut down the unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, as part of moves to streamline the administration.