South Korea says North Korea is delaying planned visits to the North by South Korean civic groups amid the ongoing Key Resolve military exercise between the South and the U.S.

The Unification Ministry in Seoul said Friday that the North has notified five South Korean civic groups who were scheduled to visit the North that their trips will be postponed.

One of the five groups is the Buddhist Jogye order that sought to hold talks with the North's Korea Buddhists Federation in the border city Gaeseong.

The official says the North has stated that the Key Resolve exercise is the reason for the postponement.