North Korea has accused the South of a "serious provocation" for moving a marker post on their common border.The claim was made on the North's official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) a day after rare cross-border talks broke up after just 22 minutes.
The North rejected demands that it free a South Korean man and demanded more money from the Kaesong Industrial zone.
Relations between the two countries are tense amid international worries about the North's nuclear programmes.
The talks on Tuesday followed 12 hours of procedural wrangling.
No new mood of cooperation was visible, according to reports from both sides of the border.
Border bother
North Korea said that the alleged move of a border marker by South Korea was "a deliberate and premeditated action to escalate tension".
South Korea said it was investigating the claim, and also said it would seek UN intervention to free a South Korean worker detained since 30 March at the Kaesong estate.
The Kaesong estate opened in 2005 as a symbol of reconciliation between two countries, but is a lightening rod for wider political tensions.
North Korea said on Tuesday that it would consider ending "benefits" for the 101 South Korean companies.
It also called for "realistic" wages for the 38,300 North Koreans who work there. Workers' pay goes directly to North Korean state bodies before a portion of it is returned to the workers.
South Korean business representatives responded by saying the key to Kaesong's viability was its cheap labour.
North Korea is angry at the South's announced intention to join a US-led Proliferation Security Initiative against shipments of weapons of mass destruction.
It says any move by its neighbour to join the PSI would be seen as a declaration of war.
The North raised the issue again at Tuesday's meeting but the South later reaffirmed its plan to join the initiative.
This article is from the
BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.