Military talks between two Koreas break down

PANMUNJOM (AFP) - High-level military talks between South and North Korea broke down Thursday due to differences over their disputed sea border.

"We've come to a conclusion that we don't need these fruitless talks any more," North Korea's chief delegate Lieutenant-General Kim Yong-Chol said at the final session of the talks at the border truce village of Panmunjom.

A red-faced and apparently angry Kim attacked the South for avoiding discussion of the replacement of the Northern Limit Line with a new maritime border, calling the line "illegal."

The Northern Limit Line in the Yellow Sea, drawn up by United Nations forces at the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War, has been a potential flashpoint in recent years. The North refuses to recognise it.

Six South Koreans were killed in a clash in June 2002 in the area, while in June 1999 a similar skirmish killed dozens of North Korean sailors.

The North says the South's warships continue to fuel tensions by violating its waters in the area, accusations rejected by Seoul as groundless.