South Korea rejects North's demand for delay of joint drills with U.S.

Head of the North Korean high-level delegation, Won Tong Yon (C) crosses the concrete border which separates the two Koreas at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarised zone, north of Seoul February 12, 2014. REUTERS/Unification Ministry/Yonhap

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea has rejected a demand by its northern neighbour to postpone this month's military drills with the United States to avoid overlap with planned reunions of families separated during the Korean War, an official said on Thursday.

The demand, made at a rare high-level meeting between the North and South on Wednesday, raised the possibility that the reunion event might be scuttled and deal a setback to weeks of confidence-building efforts by Seoul.