As the second North Korea-U.S. summit in Hanoi broke down and ended without a deal, inter-Korean relations also hit a snag, with North Korea refusing to communicate with South Korea face to face.
But quite ironically, the hostility from the North is widely seen as a way of pressuring Seoul... to try harder to resume stalled inter-Korean cooperation.
Oh Jung-hee at the unification ministry for us tonight.
While cold-shouldering against Seoul continues from north of the border, experts say such actions from Pyeongyang are only an expression of frustration and what the regime wants is an improvement in inter-Korean relations, not a suspension.
Since denuclearization talks between North Korea and the U.S. hit a snag after the Hanoi summit early this year in February and a brief Kim-Trump rendezvous at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjeom, Pyeongyang has deliberately left Seoul out of the nuclear negotiation table.
The North then slammed South Korea for going ahead with joint military exercises with the U.S., further citing the drill as the reason to reject Seoul's provision of 50-thousand tons of rice in humanitarian aid.
While anticipation was high that the two Koreas may be able to loosen up through sports exchanges, that, too, failed following North Korea's decision to ban the entry of Seoul's cheering squad and broadcasters to the inter-Korean World Cup qualifier match held in Pyeongyang last month.
And just last week, North Korea touched upon a key inter-Korean joint project South Korean tours to the North's Mount Geumgang.
The regime notified Seoul to come and tear down South Korean facilities at the tourist resort.
Seoul proposed holding face-to-face working-level talks to discuss the matter, but Pyeongyang refused to the idea and insisted on written exchanges.
The series of developments on the Korean Peninsula pose concerns that the impasse in inter-Korean relations may be hitting extremes.
But experts say, the North rather wants a restoration in inter-Korean ties... and is calling on Seoul to enable that.
"North Korea's media continues to slam South Korea, but it's actually a message urging Seoul to implement the promises it made at last year's inter-Korean summits and carry on with promised joint projects. Regarding Mount Geumgang, the North's stance is that it wants to make the program bigger, not quit it."
The expert added... that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's message of condolences over the death of President Moon Jae-in's mother was to reaffirm the personal trust between the two and show that Pyeongyang is still open to inter-Korean exchanges.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News.