South Korea on Monday dismissed the latest call for inter-Korean talks by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) as lacking sincerity, urging its northern neighbor to address pending issues first.

The DPRK on Saturday made another peace overture in a statement, suggesting unconditional and early talks to help defuse cross- border tension, heightened by a series of South Korean military drills following the mysterious sinking of a South Korean warship in March and the exchange of artillery shelling near the disputed maritime border in November.

"The government believes it is hard to take the statement as a sincere proposal for talks" considering the content and the form of the proposal, unification ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told a press briefing, adding that the DPRK has yet to follow up on the statement with an official offer for talks.

The statement did not mention Pyongyang's nuclear issues or its recent military provocation despite Seoul's insistence it must address such issues first, which renders it difficult to see it as a sincere proposal for dialogue, Chun said.

Pyongyang has vehemently denied its involvement in the alleged torpedo attack on a South Korean warship last March, and has claimed its shelling on Yeonpyeong Island was for self-defense.