In a statement on July 13, the U.N. command said the North cited administrative reasons for the delay.  

The meeting between DPRK and U.N. colonels was to take place on July 13 at the border village of Panmunjom and was intended to pave the way for higher-level talks involving generals.

The talks would have been the first since the sinking of the Cheonan, which killed 46 RoK sailors.

International investigators have accused DPRK of torpedoing the warship, a charge Pyongyang denies. 

The RoK has demanded that the North apologize for the sinking.

The U.N. Command has conducted its own investigation and wants North Korea to account for possible violations of the 1953 truce that ended the Korean War.

The U.N. Security Council condemned the sinking of the Cheonan in a statement July 10 but did not directly blame it on DPRK. Pyongyang praised the statement as a "great diplomatic victory."