'Shenanigans'
The accusations come after a week in which North Korea has expelled South Korean managers from a joint industrial base, test-fired short-range missiles and criticised Mr Lee in state media.
The communist nation is also seeking an apology from the South after General Kim Tae-young said Seoul could target the North's suspected nuclear sites if an attack looked imminent.On Wednesday, South Korea's Defence Ministry sent a statement to North Korea asking it to stop "slander" and activities that would disrupt the stability of the Korean peninsula.Yonhap news agency says that in response, a North Korean general sent a statement threatening unspecified "military countermeasures".He also dismissed South Korea's statement as "shenanigans", the agency said.Meanwhile, in a speech on Thursday, the South Korean president defended his general's remarks."The comments by Chairman Kim (Tae-young) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff were a natural and ordinary reply to lawmakers' questions," he said."It shouldn't be interpreted differently. So North Korea's attitude is not desirable."He called for "substantial dialogue" between the two countries.The chill between the Koreas comes as talks aiming to implement the North's denuclearisation deal appear to have stalled.Pyongyang agreed last year to abandon its nuclear programme in return for aid.But it then missed a deadline to fully disclose all of its activities and progress on the deal has come to a halt.
As in the days of Noah....