Officials in Seoul say military talks aimed at easing tension between the two Koreas collapsed after North Korean military officers abruptly walked out of a meeting.
An unidentified South Korean Defense Ministry official was quoted as saying the talks at the border village of Panmunjom broke down over differences on the agenda for higher-level talks.
It was the first such meeting since the North shelled a South Korean island in November, killing four people.
Earlier, South Korea said it had in principle accepted a North Korean offer to resume talks on humanitarian issues, including reuniting families separated by the Korean war, and joint tourism and industrial projects.
South Korea's Unification Ministry said a date and venue for talks mediated by the Red Cross would be set after the preliminary military talks had ended.
compiled from agency reports