South Korea on Thursday proposed fresh talks with North Korea aimed at re-opening a shuttered joint industrial zone at Kaesong, a government spokesman said.

The Unification Ministry sent a message to the North Korean government proposing that three officials from each side meet at the border truce village of Panmunjom on Saturday, Spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok said.

North Korea on Thursday blamed South Korean arrogance and deceit for the collapse of planned talks between the two rivals and warned that prospects for any future dialogue had been severely damaged.

The two Koreas had initially agreed to hold their first high-level talks in six years in Seoul on Wednesday and Thursday this week, but they were called off at the last minute following a dispute over protocol.

South Korea on Thursday formally offered North Korea talks on suspended operations at their joint Kaesong industrial zone, and hinted it might pull out entirely if Pyongyang declines.

The South said it was offering working-level talks to resolve the impasse over Kaesong, a rare symbol of inter-Korean cooperation that has become the most notable victim of escalating military tensions on the Korean peninsula.

North Korea on Friday rejected a new request by businessmen from the South to deliver food and supplies to their staff inside a closed joint-industrial zone, officials said.

North Korea has blocked access to the zone in Kaesong -- which lies 10 kilometers (six miles) inside its border -- since April 3 amid soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula.