North Korea has rejected South Korea’s proposal to hold talks for preparing a reunion of separated families to welcome Lunar New Year, which falls on January 31 this year.

The North’s Secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) told South Korea’s Ministry of Unification that it could not hold reunions to welcome the Lunar New Year due to forthcoming joint military drills with the United States, state media said.

“Can the separated families and relatives have reunions in peace amid gunfire,” the CPRK was quoted as saying by the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA).

The KCNA response