Paper: Lee rebuffed DPRK offer to meet

New President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Lee Myung-bak, who has pledged a tougher policy in dealing with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), rebuffed his neighbor's offer to meet in January, a news report said yesterday.

The proposal was made through the ROK's National Intelligence Service (NIS) "for responsible officials from the two sides to meet", the conservative Dong-a Ilbo newspaper quoted an unnamed government official as saying.

"But President Lee demanded clarification on the purpose of such a meeting, and the DPRK subsequently suspended attempts to make contact," the official said.