By Chung Min-uck
Two events to mark the 13th anniversary of the 2000 inter-Korean summit will be held separately in South and North Korea Saturday after the government refused to agree to share the occasion at a location in North Korea.
The South Korean Committee for the Joint Implementation of the June 15 Summit Declaration said Friday that it agreed with its North Korean counterpart to have separate events.
The South Korean Committee’s occurrence will take place at Imjingak near the demilitarized zone in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.
However, the committee said it will present a joint declaration with the North Korean Committee urging for a joint event to be held eventually with North Korea to celebrate the anniversary.
Last month, the North invited the South Korean civic group to a joint inter-Korean event, but the Unification Ministry refused to agree to this, describing it as a ploy by Pyongyang to fuel internal discord in the South.
Since the killing of a South Korean tourist at North Korea’s Mt. Geumgang on July 2008 by a North Korean soldier, the government has held back the South Korean committee from holding a joint event.