A South Korean civic delegation arrived in Pyongyang Tuesday morning to attend a joint ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the June 2000 inter-Korean summit.

The 300-member delegation entered North Korea via a direct route over the Yellow Sea.

Before their departure, delegation head Paik Nak-chung said both sides would commit to protecting peace on the Korean Peninsula during the celebrations, which come amid heightened tensions over the North's nuclear standoff.

A separate government delegation headed by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young is to depart in the afternoon.

The two South Korean delegations will then attend the opening ceremony for the joint event at the Kim Il Sung Stadium on Tuesday evening, and other events organized by civic groups of the two Koreas.

Chung and his delegates are also scheduled to meet North Korea’s parliamentary head Kim Yong-nam and other government officials on the sidelines of the joint celebrations.

The three-day event will feature a unification rally, a photograph exhibition and performances.

The delegation will return home on Friday.