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 has 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 the leaders of the respective countries at the time ― South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korea’s Kim Jong-il ― on June 15, 2000, in hopes of thawing the inter-Korean ties that had been icy for the preceding 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 was quoted as saying in a letter.

It cited the Seoul government’s “indifference about the event’s venue and setting unnecessary preconditions.”

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.

Meanwhile, the North’s Rodong Sinmun, the communist party’s official newspaper, said Tuesday that South Korea’s joint drills with the U.S. were to blame for souring the inter-Korean ties ahead of the summit anniversary.

Pyongyang has recently raised military tensions by test-firing what it claimed to be a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

Seoul called on Pyongyang to show sincerity in holding joint inter-Korean civilian events, as those events can help restore unity and ease inter-Korean tension.

“The South Korean government is urging the North to sincerely respond to the joint commemorative event that could help restore national unity,” said an official, asking not to be named.

From news reports