North Korea had invited a senior U.S. diplomat to visit the country for talks with his counterpart, but Washington rejected the offer, North Korean media reported Sunday.



An unnamed spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said Pyongyang invited Ambassador Sung Kim, the U.S. special representative on North Korea policy, to visit the North during his trip to Asia last week, the Korean Central News Agency said in a report, monitored in Seoul.



"However, the U.S., in disregard of this, is working hard to shift the blame onto the DPRK, misleading public opinion by creating impression that dialogue and contacts are not realized due to the latter's insincere attitude," the spokesman said, according to KCNA's English report.



DPRK is the acronym of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.



The spokesman's remarks come two days after Kim told reporters in Beijing that he was disappointed not to hold a meeting with the North Koreans during the trip. The diplomat had traveled to Japan and China last week.



The ambassador's remarks were seen by many as indirect confirmation of a South Korean newspaper report that the U.S. had proposed a meeting between Kim and North Korean officials in Beijing.



"It is preposterous and a height of American-style shamelessness and hypocrisy to claim that the U.S. keeps the door of dialogue with the DPRK open," KCNA quoted the spokesman as saying.



Relations between the U.S. and the North have worsened further recently following a cyberattack on Sony Pictures, which produced a comic film about the assassination of North Korea's top leader. The U.S. has blamed the North for carrying out the attack and imposed fresh sanctions, but Pyongyang has categorically denied any involvement. (Yonhap)