South Korea on Friday refused to accept North Korea’s latest offer for an inter-Korea meeting to bring together a wide range of participants from government officials and politicians to civilians, branding it mere propaganda.

Earlier in the day, Pyongyang proposed a “nationwide grand meeting for reunification” to mark the 71st anniversary of Korea’s liberation, saying “anyone who wishes for reunification” would be invited.

The communist country has been stepping up offers of talks since last month, after affirming its nuclear-armed state claim during its ruling Workers’ Party of Korea Congress. But the South Korean government and local observers have questioned the motives behind them, pointing out the offers did not address the issue of Pyongyang’s denuclearization.

“The North’s offer showed no change in attitude of any kind on its nuclear programs, which is the biggest obstacle to reunification and peace on the Korean Peninsula. Instead, it is just propaganda that reiterated its previous position, such as the demand to suspend Seoul-Washington joint military drills,” said Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee.

The South Korean government has insisted that the North’s gesture toward giving up the nuclear programs should be a prerequisite to resuming the talks.

Jeong suspected that the North’s repeated offer is to boast loyalty to its leader Kim Jong-un, who offered inter-Korea talks during the WPK congress.

Pyongyang has been alternating the hard-line and conciliatory approach since last month, offering working-level military talks and firing its Musudan intermediate-range missile on May 31. The first was snubbed by the South’s Defense Ministry while the latter ended in failure.

Just Thursday, North Korean Defense Minister Pak Yong-sik released a statement condemning South Korea, the U.S. and Japan’s agreement on countermeasures against the North Korean missile threats as a “severe act of provocation.”

Local observers like Hong Hyun-ik, a senior researcher at local think tank Sejong Institute, have said that the dialogue offers were aimed to shift blame to South Korea for the current impasse in inter-Korea relations.

Hong even suggested that the message may have been targeted at China, with which Pyongyang has been seeking to mend relations.

The vice chairman of the Workers’ Party of Korea’s Central Committee Ri Su-yong recently held a meeting with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, after which delegations from Pyongyang visited Vietnam and Laos. The series of visits are viewed as North Korea’s attempt to escape the international isolation it faces after U.N. Security Council passed economic sanctions against it as punishment for its nuclear tests and long-range rocket launch.

By Yoon Min-sik (minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)