North Korea Rejects Meeting With South Over Resort

North Korea has rejected South Korea’s request for working-level talks to discuss the possible demolition of South Korean-made hotels and other facilities at the North’s Diamond Mountain resort that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants removed.

Seoul’s Unification Ministry says that North Korea – in letters sent to the South on Tuesday – said face-to-face meetings would be unnecessary and repeated its stance that details should be worked out through document exchanges.

The South on Monday proposed a working-level meeting with North Korea, days after the North formally demanded that the South Koreans come to Diamond Mountain at an agreed-upon date to clear out their facilities.

Kim has ordered the destruction of the properties, apparently because Seoul won’t defy U.S.-led sanctions and resume South Korean tours at the site.