South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday accepted the resignation of his point man on Pyongyang. Kim Yeon-chul had asked to quit after North Korea destroyed a liaison office while ramping up its pressure against Seoul amid stalled nuclear negotiations with the US.
Kim was appointed as unification minister in April last year, as talks between the Trump administration and Pyongyang began falling apart.
However, he leaves the job without having had a single meeting with the North Koreans. He said he wanted to resign to take responsibility for tensions between the rivals, the AP news agency reported.
In recent months, Pyongyang has cut off virtually all cooperation with the South. The North has also expressed frustration over Seoul’s unwillingness to break away from its ally, Washington, and restart inter-Korean economic projects held back by US-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.