South and North Korea will not march together in Friday’s opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

IOC president Jacques Rogge says negotiations for a joint march failed. He calls it a “setback for peace.”

The Korean teams will instead march one behind the other in line with the Mandarin alphabet.

Athletes from the two Koreas marched together in the same uniform under the blue and white “unification flag” at the 2000 and 2004 Olympics.

Rogge said Thursday he had sent letters to the presidents of both Koreas urging a joint march in Beijing but the initiative was rejected. He said the IOC must accept decisions of sovereign governments.