South Korea called on North Korea Wednesday to end its insults against President Park Geun-hye as the North slammed her for condemning the North's decision to push back its standard time by 30 minutes.
  

Park expressed deep regret Monday over Pyongyang's unilateral move to push its clocks back a half-hour starting Liberation Day, which falls on Saturday. The North claimed that the move is aimed at removing what it called the vestige of Japan's colonial rule.
  

Currently, the two Koreas use identical standard time, set under Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
  

The North blamed Park on Tuesday for commenting on its decision, saying that what she said is an "unpardonable and politically motivated provocation."
  

The Unification Ministry expressed regret over the North's rebuke, calling on Pyongyang to immediately stop slandering the South's leader.
  

"The Seoul government has voiced concerns that the North's decision is feared to deepen differences between the two Koreas and hamper inter-Korean cooperation," Jeong Joon-hee, the ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing. "It is regrettable that North Korea has insulted and bashed President Park."
  

North Korea claimed its decision to fix the new standard time reflects its "firm faith and will" to make Japan pay for what North Korea called its "hideous crimes."
  

The time differences could cause some logistical problems, such as the timetables at a joint industrial park in the North Korean city of Gaesong.
  

Seoul said that South Korea's choice of the present time zone is based on practical benefits, such as daylight savings, rather than colonial history. (Yonhap)