North Korea lashed out at South Korea Monday, blaming it for high tensions on the Korean Peninsula as marathon talks aimed at defusing the situation continued for a third day.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the North's ruling Workers' Party, claimed in an editorial that the South drove the political situation on the peninsula to dangerous levels under a deliberate plan with the U.S. to invade the communist country, according to the North's Korean Central News Agency.

In a separate editorial also carried by the same paper, the North insisted that the South fabricated this month's landmine explosion and artillery exchange to prepare for war with the North.

"The editorial said that the puppets' confrontational mental illness has completely reached the late stage," said the KCNA dispatch, citing the fact that South Korea has placed all government offices under emergency alert mode and banned military personnel from leaving their premises.

North Korea refers to the South as "puppets" of the U.S.

As of Monday morning, top negotiators from the two sides continued to hold marathon talks at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone dividing the Koreas.

The talks began Saturday evening after tensions soared following a landmine explosion earlier this month blamed on the North and an exchange of artillery across the heavily fortified border. (Yonhap)