The second ever summit between the two Koreas looked strained on Wednesday when the South’s president snubbed an invitation to stay in Pyongyang another day and said North Korea still did not trust its neighbour.

But Seoul insisted the talks between Roh Moo-hyun and the North’s reclusive leader Kim Jong-il had been a success and they would issue a statement by lunchtime on Thursday.

“The leaders met twice on Wednesday in the morning and afternoon. We believe there was sufficient and honest dialogue. The president said the result of the talks was satisfactory,” presidential spokesman Chon Ho-seon told reporters in Pyongyang.

But he did not elaborate. Earlier, the communist state’s leader invited Roh to stay on until Friday, saying it would allow the two men, who have never met before, to hold more relaxed and substantive talks.

No reason was given for the rejection but a South Korean spokesman later quoted Kim as telling Roh at the end of their meeting: “We have had sufficient dialogue so it (another day) may not be necessary. You have people waiting in the South so let’s do it as we had planned.”

Roh earlier told reporters he had felt a “wall, hard to tear down” in his talks with Kim.

“(The North) does not completely trust South Korea. To actively proceed with the things we want to do, we need to overcome this wall of mistrust,” a South Korean media pool report quoted him as saying.

The South Korean president cited Pyongyang’s dissatisfaction with the speed of development of an industrial park run by the South in Kaesong, a former royal capital just north of the border between the two Koreas, which remain technically at war and divided for more than 60 years.

The three-day meeting comes amid news of an imminent agreement between North Korea and regional powers to unwind Pyongyang’s nuclear arms programme and put an end to years of bluster, threats and diplomatic wrangling.