S. Korea likely to hold events to mark summit anniversary without N. Korea's participation: official

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has not invited North Korea to events it is organizing to mark the first anniversary of an inter-Korean summit the two sides held last September, a unification ministry official said Tuesday.

Seoul is to hold celebratory events to mark the first anniversary of the third summit talks between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held in Pyongyang on Sept. 19, 2018.

"It would be great to hold joint events, but at this point, we are preparing events only for the South and no notification (about the events) has been conveyed to the North as far as I know," the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

Asked if the government has any plan to invite the North going forward, he declined to provide a direct answer, just saying the decision should be made by taking into consideration current situations.

Moon and Kim held three summit talks last year -- in April, May and September -- in which the leaders promised to boost cross-border exchanges and ease military tensions.

Inter-Korean relations, however, have been all but stalled ever since, apparently stymied by lack of progress in Pyongyang's denuclearization talks with the United States.

North Korea has not responded to South Korea's offer for cooperative projects and talks to break the stalemate in cross-border relations. It recently warned that inter-Korean talks will not resume as long as military threats continue, taking issue with a joint military drill by Seoul and Washington.

In April, South Korea notified the North of its plan to hold a peace concert to mark the anniversary of the first Moon-Kim summit at the truce village of Panmunjom. Pyongyang did not send its people to the event.

kokobj@yna.co.kr
(END)