SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea has balked at a proposed visit by one of the closest confidants of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak amid tense relations between the two sides, an official said Tuesday.
Pyongyang's rejection of the proposed visit by Chung Doo-un and two other ruling party legislators for the inauguration of a joint venture factory came days after the communist nation threatened to cut any remaining ties with the South unless Lee changes what the North called a policy of "reckless confrontation."
North Korea has protested Lee's hard-line stance on its regime since he took office in February, suspending reconciliation talks that had prospered under his two liberal predecessors. Civilian exchanges have continued, but the North has threatened to end them as well.
Chung of the ruling Grand National Party is considered Lee's right-hand man, serving as one of his closest aides since his days as Seoul mayor in 2002-2006. Local media have dubbed Chung Lee's "brain."
The lawmaker had planned to visit Pyongyang next week to attend the dedication ceremony of an inter-Korean joint venture textile factory. His travel plans had touched off media speculation that he might take a message from Lee to Pyongyang about improving relations.
But an aide to Chung said his office was informed late Monday through the Unification Ministry that North Korea did not want to receive the legislator. The official spoke on customary condition of anonymity citing the issue's sensitivity.
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon said the North has informed Seoul that it would be difficult to receive some legislators because of "internal circumstances." Kim did not name the officials.
The divided states fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, leaving the peninsula technically still at war. Relations had warmed significantly since the first-ever 2000 summit of their leaders before freezing again this year.
