Cheong Wa Dae holds special NSC meeting over inter-Korean dialogue

"The standing members of the NSC discussed the North's withdrawal from the joint liaison office and related measures," it said in a short statement.

When asked to comment, Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said the government did not have anything else to offer at the time, only noting that the unification ministry earlier issued a statement.

In a press briefing, Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung said the North's withdrawal was "regrettable" and expressed hope that the country will return to the liaison office at an early date.

"Because the government's position has been adequately explained in the vice unification minister's press conference, Cheong Wa Dae has nothing else to add," the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman told reporters.

The pullout follows what many believe to be the collapse of denuclearization negotiations between the United States and North Korea.

US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held their second summit in Hanoi last month, but the meeting ended without a much anticipated deal.

Washington has since been looking to Seoul to help coordinate a deal with Pyongyang.

Cheong Wa Dae officials earlier said the country was in dialogue with the North through "various" channels.

The possible shutdown of the joint liaison office may still hinder its efforts to persuade the North back to the dialogue table.

The joint liaison office opened in September under a summit agreement reached at Moon's first inter-Korean summit with the North Korean leader in April last year.

Moon and Kim held two more bilateral summits in May and September.

In their third and latest summit in Pyongyang, Kim agreed to reciprocate Moon's trip to the North Korean capital with a visit to South Korea. (Yonhap)