DPRK Urges South Korea to Improve Inter-Korean Relations

Xinhua
2017/5/31 22:52:53

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday urged the South Korean new government to improve inter-Korean relations.

Rodong Sinmun, the official daily of the ruling Korean Workers' Party, said in a commentary that the adoption of the June 15 Joint Declaration thawed the north-south confrontation which had existed for more than half a century.

The June 15 Joint Declaration was issued after then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il met in Pyongyang in 2000.

The keynote of the declaration is that the Korean nation is responsible for Korea's reunification and the issue of national reunification should be settled independently solely by the Korean nation itself.

"In the wake of the adoption of the joint declaration, the inter-Korean relations of distrust and confrontation turned into those of national reconciliation and unity," said the commentary.

However, the hope of national reunification was "trampled down" by the former conservative South Korean government, it said, adding that the deterioration of the inter-Korean relations is the root cause of all the problems in South Korea such as "security unrest, a diplomatic crisis and economic catastrophe."

"The present South Korean authorities are at the crossroads," said the commentary, urging the current South Korean government improve north-south relations.

The commentary also called for the removal of the US Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system.