DPRK, South Korean leaders agree on denuclearization of Korean Peninsula

China Plus/AP Published: 2018-04-27 20:42:13
Comment
Share
Share this with Close
Messenger Messenger Pinterest LinkedIn

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), shake hands after signing a joint declaration, titled the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

South Korean President Moon Jae-in (R) and Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), shake hands after signing a joint declaration, titled the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula, at Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom on April 27, 2018. [Photo: VCG]

Leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea have signed a joint declaration confirming their common goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, as well as pushing for a peace treaty.

The announcement comes after a historic meeting between Kim Jong Un, top leader of the DPRK and Moon Jae-in, President of South Korea in the truce village of Panmunjom on the border between the two countries.

The Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula consists of three main themes: the establishment of a peace regime, efforts to ease military tensions, and co-prosperity and unification of the two Koreas.

Moon Jae-in says at a joint press conference with Kim Jong Un that the declaration aims to realize a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

"Today, Chairman Kim Jong Un and I confirmed that our shared goal is to rid the Korean Peninsula of nuclear weapons through complete denuclearization. The preceded measures made by North Korea have very important meanings. It will be a valuable beginning toward the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. From this moment, I want to clearly declare that the two countries will closely cooperate with each other to completely denuclearize the Korean Peninsula," says Moon.

He adds that they also agreed to end the unstable armistice, and establish permanent and solid peace through the declaration of the end of war and peace treaty.

Kim Jong Un says they agreed to thoroughly carry out previous inter-Korean agreements in order to improve bilateral relationship.

"Today, we will make sure that the agreement we have reached, which the people of the Korean Peninsula and the world are watching, does not repeat the unfortunate history of unfulfilled promises, by closely communicating and cooperating with each other in order to yield good results," says Kim.

The formal, closed-door talks between the leaders of the two neighbors took place at the Peace House on the South Korean side of Panmunjom, which has divided the Korean Peninsula since the end of the Korean War in the early 1950s.

Before the formal talks, an official welcoming ceremony took place, which included the inspection of an honor guard.

Moon led Kim across the military demarcation line into the South Korean side of Panmunjom, and then Kim invited Moon to step into the DPRK side, before they returned to the South Korean side together.

Kim has also become the first DPRK leader to set foot on South Korean soil since the Korean War ended.

The two leaders also planted a memorial tree to symbolize peace beside a path near the military demarcation line at noon.

The previous two inter-Korean summits took place in the DRPK capital of Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.

Related stories

Share this story on

Most Popular