South Korean organizers of a joint celebration marking the 13th anniversary of the historic inter-Korean summit said Friday that the two Koreas will be holding separate events this year due to strained bilateral ties.

The South Korean Committee for the Joint Implementation of the June 15 Summit Declaration said because Seoul has not given permission for its members to attend a celebration in the North, it contacted its counterpart in the communist country and notified them they will hold separate events.

Pyongyang had insisted on a joint celebration to commemorate the 2000 summit and the June 15 declaration that was signed by then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The summit has been lauded for ushering in a new era of rapprochement, but Seoul had barred its citizens from attending the annual celebratory event for the past four years because it views the ceremonies as an attempt by the North to fuel internal discord within South Korea.

The two Koreas had tried to discuss the issue of South Korean citizens participating in the event at the high-level meeting that would have taken place this week, but since the meeting was canceled at the last minute, no headway was made. The government-to-government meeting fell through over bickering related to the rank of chief delegates that the two sides wanted to send to the meeting.

The South Korean committee said it will announce a statement pushing both Koreas to follow through on the summit declaration that calls for all sides to strive for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

It also said that its members along with politicians from the main opposition Democratic Party and the Unified Progressive Party will hold a gathering near the demarcation line that separates the two sides and march to the Unification Bridge south of the truce village of Panmunjom on Saturday.

In addition the South Korean committee said in the future the two sides should try to hold events in a third country to celebrate the summit.

The progressive group, meanwhile, claimed that the main reason why the joint celebrations are not going to be held this year is due to the "negative views" held toward the gathering by the current administration.

The two Koreas had been holding annual meetings on the date of the summit from 2001 through 2008. Seoul had since banned South Koreans from taking part after the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the Mount Kumgang resort in July 2008. (Yonhap News)