Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
The top leaders of the north and the south solemnly declared before the 80 million Koreans and the whole world that there would be no longer war and a new era of peace has opened on the Korean peninsula.
They declared as follows in the historic land of Panmunjom, reflecting the firm will to put an end to division and confrontation, an outcome of the Cold War, at the earliest date, courageously open up a new era of national reconciliation, peace and prosperity and more actively improve and develop the north-south ties:
1 The north and the south will achieve comprehensive and epochal improvement and development in the north-south ties and thus relink the severed blood vessel of the nation and bring earlier the future of common prosperity and independent reunification.
It is the unanimous desire of all the Koreans and urgent requirement of the times which brooks no further delay to improve and develop the north-south ties.
①The north and the south confirmed the principle of national independence which specifies that the destiny of our nation is set by ourselves and agreed to open up a drastic phase in the improvement and development of the ties by thoroughly implementing the north-south declarations and all the agreements that had already been adopted.
②The north and the south agreed to hold dialogues and negotiations in all fields including the high-level talks at an earliest possible date and take active measures to implement the matters that have been agreed on at the summit talks.
③The north and the south agreed to set up a north-south joint liaison office where authorities of both sides will permanently reside in Kaesong area in order to ensure close discussion between the authorities and to satisfactorily provide NGO exchanges and cooperation.
④The north and the south agreed to invigorate multi-faceted cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts of people of all social standings in order to give further momentum to the atmosphere of national reconciliation and unity.
They agreed to actively promote joint national events participated in by people of all social standings including the authorities, parliaments, political parties, local autonomous bodies, and NGOs on the significant occasions of the north and south including June 15 and thus boost the atmosphere of reconciliation and cooperation inside while making joint advance into international games including 2018 Asian Games in order to demonstrate to the world the nation's resourcefulness, talents and unity.
⑤The north and the south agreed to exert efforts for the rapid settlement of humanitarian issues that are attributable to the national division and have north-south Red Cross talks in order to discuss and settle all the issues including the reunion of separated families and relatives.
For the present, they agreed to hold the reunion of separated families and relatives with the upcoming August 15 as an occasion.
⑥The north and the south agreed to actively promote the projects agreed in the October 4 declaration in order to achieve the balanced development and common prosperity of the nation's economy, and to take practical measures to relink and modernize railways and roads on the eastern and western coasts on a priority basis for their active use.
2 The north and the south will make joint efforts to defuse the acute military tensions and to substantially defuse the danger of a war on the Korean peninsula.
It is a very important issue related to the destiny of the nation and a very crucial issue for ensuring peaceful and stable life of the Koreans to defuse military tensions and remove the danger of war from the Korean peninsula.
①The north and the south agreed to totally stop all hostile acts against the other side in all spaces including the ground, sea and air, the root cause of military tension and conflicts.
For the present, they agreed to stop all the hostile acts including the loud-speaker broadcasting and scattering of leaflets in the areas along the Military Demarcation Line from May 1, dismantle their means and make the DMZ substantial peace zone in the future.
②The north and the south agreed to turn the area of the "northern limit line" in the West Sea into peace waters and take substantial measures to prevent accidental military conflicts and ensure safe fishing operations there.
③The north and the south agreed to take various military measures depending on the invigoration of mutual cooperation, exchanges, visits and contacts.
The north and the south agreed to often have military authorities talks including the talks between the defence ministers in order to discuss and settle the military issues that may arise between the two sides without delay, and to hold General-level military talks within May, to begin with.
3 The north and the south will closely cooperate with each other to build a durable and lasting peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula.
It is a historic task which brooks no further delay to terminate the present abnormal armistice situation and establish a firm peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula.
①The north and the south agreed to reconfirm the non-aggression agreement on non-use of any form of armed forces and strictly abide by it.
②The north and the south agreed to realize disarmament in a phased manner depending on the removal of military tension and the substantial building of military confidence between the two sides.
③The north and the south agreed to declare the end of war this year, the 65th anniversary of the Armistice Agreement, replace the AA with a peace accord and actively promote the holding of north-south-U.S. tripartite or north-south-China-U.S. four-party talks for the building of durable and lasting peace mechanism.
④The north and the south confirmed the joint target on turning the Korean peninsula into a nuclear-free zone through the complete denuclearization.
The north and the south shared the acknowledgment that the active measures being taken by the north side are very significant and crucial steps for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, and agreed to fulfill each other's responsibility and role in the future.
The north and the south agreed to make active efforts to elicit support and cooperation from the international community for the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
The top leaders of the north and the south agreed to frequently have an in-depth discussion on the important matters for the nation through regular talks and hotlines, deepen confidence and jointly work hard to further expand the favorable trend toward the sustained development of the north-south ties and peace, prosperity and reunification of the Korean peninsula.
For the present President Moon Jae In agreed to visit Pyongyang this fall. -0-
