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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un join hands at Panmunjeom’s Joint Security Area (JSA) and cross the military demarcation line (MDL) onto the North Korean side on Apr. 27, just before the inter-Korean summit. (Blue House photo pool)
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Says declaration has made peace a part of everyday life by freeing Koreans from war
On Aug. 3, one day shy of 100 days since the adoption of the Panmunjeom Declaration on Apr. 27, the Blue House said that the Panmunjeom Declaration has made peace part of the everyday life of Koreans by freeing them from the fear of war and has made inter-Korean dialogue routine as well. The Blue House also reiterated its determination to declare the end of the Korean War before the year is over. “The Panmunjeom Declaration made possible agreements between South and North Korea and between North Korea and the US to discuss complete denuclearization and a permanent peace regime, which have completely freed the people from the fear of war and made peace an everyday matter. There are also indications that the problem of the ‘Korea discount’ is being resolved as well,” the Blue House said in a document called “Major Achievements 100 Days after the Panmunjeom Declaration” that it released on Friday. (The Korean discount refers to the fact that South Korea’s national credit rating is undervalued because of inter-Korean tension.) The Blue House observed that North Korea carried out one nuclear weapon test and launched 15 ballistic missiles last year but has done nothing of the kind this year. “A new normalization of Inter-Korean relations has begun, based on trust and mutual respect. As inter-Korean dialogue becomes routine, we have naturally entered the process of restoring the Korean people’s homogeneity,” the Blue House said, offering as examples the second inter-Korean summit on May 26, the North Korean contingent’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, reciprocal visits by special envoys from South and North Korea and high-level inter-Korean talks. “The Panmunjeom Declaration provided the occasion for holding the historic North Korea-US summit and adopting the joint statement in Singapore. This created an opportunity for several countries to expand contact with North Korea and for the North to enter into the international community. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump have been able to build mutual confidence by holding a summit and exchanging personal letters,” the Blue House said. New normalization of Inter-Korean relations, including institutionalization of dialogue In terms of concrete results of the Panmunjeom Declaration, the Blue House mentioned the institutionalization of inter-Korean dialogue, including military talks between generals, and cooperation on railroads, highways and forests; the expansion of cooperation and exchange in a wide range of areas, including the inter-Korean basketball tournament for unification and fielding a combined team at the 2018 Asian Games; efforts to achieve joint prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through railroad and highway links; and the agreement to hold reunions for the divided families on Aug. 20-26. “We will create a virtuous cycle in which progress in inter-Korean relations drives denuclearization and will seek to declare the end of the Korean War before the year is over through close deliberations with related countries,” the Blue House said. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
