The two Koreas failed to co-organize a joint event commemorating the 15th anniversary of the first-ever inter-Korean summit, dealing another blow to the chilled cross-border ties.

The civilian preparatory group here said Tuesday that they have failed to see progress in their talks with the North as Pyongyang turned reluctant. The civilian groups of both sides had tentatively agreed to jointly celebrate the anniversary by hosting a three-day event starting June 14 in Seoul.

The North reportedly said it would be better to separately hold the events, the South Korean group said.

The event was to mark the summit between then-South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il on June 15, 2000, in hopes of thawing the inter-Korean ties that had been icy for the past several years.

The botched preparation is also expected to dampen the prospects of holding a joint event that marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule on Korea‘s Liberation Day on Aug. 15, sources said.

“Unless there is a change in the fundamental position of the South, no amount of working-level contact to prepare for the event will bring good results,” the North Korean side said in a letter.

The two sides had held preliminary talks in Shenyang, China, last month.

The South Korean side proposed to hold a follow-up working-level discussion mid-May, only to be turned down by the North. It added that despite the North’s rejection, it would continue to work on hosting joint-events.

From news reports