Koreas fail to agree on joint statement after aid row

North and South Korea fail to agree on a joint statement on the last day of their ministerial talks following a row over rice aid.

North and South Korea failed on Friday to agree on a joint statement on the last day of their ministerial talks following a row over rice aid, South Korean officials said.

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"There won't be any more contact (to try to negotiate a statement)," said Kim Nam-Sik, the spokesman for the South's Unification Ministry.

North Korea had protested strongly at the South's decision to link the promised rice aid to progress in scrapping its nuclear programme.