DPRK decides to abolish agencies handling inter-Korean affairs

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) decided on Monday to abolish its agencies handling inter-Korean affairs, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on Tuesday.

The Supreme People's Assembly of the DPRK issued, during its session on Monday, the decision on abolishing the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Administration, agencies designed to facilitate inter-Korean dialogue, negotiations and cooperation, the KCNA report said.

The decision was made on the grounds that "the reunification of Korea can never be achieved with the Republic of Korea which set it as its state policy to achieve the 'unification by absorption' and 'unification under liberal democracy,'" according to the report.

"It is quite contrary to our national reunification line based on one nation, one state and two systems which we have adhered to for nearly 80 years," the report said.