South Korean Unification Ministry Says North Korea Withdrawing From Joint Liaison Office

North Korea informed it's southern neighbor on Friday that it was withdrawing from the joint liaison office near the demilitarized zone that was established after one of the historic inter-Korean summits last year, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said in a press release

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd March, 2019) North Korea informed it's southern neighbor on Friday that it was withdrawing from the joint liaison office near the demilitarized zone that was established after one of the historic inter-Korean summits last year, the South Korean Ministry of Unification said in a press release.

"The North today ... pulled out of the South-North Joint Liaison Office, notifying through liaison officer contact that the 'North side is pulling out with instructions from the superior authority.' The North added that it 'will not mind the South remaining in the office,' and that it will 'notify further practical matters in the future,'," the press release read.

The South Korean government expressed regret over Pyongyang's decision to pull out from the liaison office and urged North Korea to "return soon so that the South-North Joint Liaison Office be in operation as agreed by the two sides."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed to establish the office at their April 2018 summit, signaling a rapprochement between the two countries. The office, which opened in the North Korean border city of Kaesong last September, allowed North and South Korean officials to communicate on a regular basis.