North Korea is pointing its finger at President Park Geun-hye again for what it believes are problems hampering efforts to commemorate the landmark Seoul-Pyongyang summit on June 15, 2000.
Civilian representatives from the two Koreas have been at odds over where to mark the 15th anniversary of the June 15 Declaration, which called for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
Uriminzokkiri, Pyongyang's propaganda website, slammed Park on Thursday for her scheduled visit to the United States from June 14 to 18. It claimed that such a visit "would spoil" discussions over the candidate cities to celebrate the historic declaration made between then-President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
"We wonder why Park scheduled her overseas trip during this time, especially to the country that has torn the Korean Peninsula apart," the website said.
"Her escape to the U.S. will put the regional security of East Asia at risk," it added, pointing out that Park will hold a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama on June 16.
The two leaders are expected to discuss North Korea's growing military threats in the wake of its claim earlier this month that it successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile and secured technology to miniaturize nuclear warheads.
"She will play along with U.S. President Barack Obama and stir up anti-North Korea sentiment," the website added.
The Ministry of Unification, which deals with inter-Korean affairs, said it found Pyongyang's criticism "regretful."
"President Park's trip has nothing do with the talks to commemorate the June 15 Declaration," ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said. "We can't accept Pyongyang's argument because it's illogical."
North Korea's criticism of Park came amid a deadlock between civil representatives from the two Koreas over where to run the festivals to celebrate the June 15 Declaration and Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Aug. 15, 1945.
The representatives sought to mark the two historic events as part of efforts to improve the inter-Korean relationship.
The North Koreans have insisted on celebrating the June 15 Declaration in Seoul and 70th anniversary of the Liberation Day in Pyongyang.
Their South Korean counterparts have demanded that the celebrations for Liberation Day must take place in Seoul.
The inter-Korean reconciliatory efforts among civilians had given rise to optimism that ties between the Park administration and Kim Jong-un regime could improve.
The commemoration for the June 15 Declaration was last held in 2008 on Mount Geumgang, a scenic resort in North Korea.