Seoul has prohibited a South Korean rescue group from visiting the North to assist following a fatal apartment building collapse in May, officials said Thursday.

In June, the Korea Rescue Association, based in Seoul, applied for government approval on June 26 to assist in the aftermath of the May 13 collapse of a 23-story apartment building.

The South’s Ministry of Unification confirmed on Monday that North Korea’s “General Bureau of Red Star Construction” had requested the assistance of the KRA on June 9 – nearly four weeks after the accident itself.

The MOU denied the request on the grounds that