Inter-Korea Summit: Historic Meeting, Remarkable ResultThe June of this year at the turn of the millennium will forever be remembered on the Korean Peninsula, as the top leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and Republic of Korea met Pyongyang from Tuesday to Thursday for the first inter-Korean summit after a 55-year division of the peninsula.Kim Jong Il, chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission, and Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, held talks with South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, exchanging views on issues of common concerns. The landmark summit clearly reflected both the worldwide trend of peace and development and the strong aspirations of the Korean people for peace and reunification. It came as a pleasant surprise for Kim Dae-jung to see Kim Jong Il greeting him at the airport and the warm welcome scenes involving 600,000 citizens lining Pyongyang streets. The warm welcome made a good start for the historic summit. During their four-hour meeting on Wednesday, the two Kims discussed such major issues as peace on the peninsula, national reunification, easing of tension, and economic cooperation and exchanges, culminating in the signing of the historic North-South Joint Declaration. Reaffirming the three principles for national reunification, namely peace, independence and national unity, as set in the 1972 North-South Joint Communique, the two sides agreed in the joint declaration to start exchange of visits by separated family members, to promote balanced development of the national economy through cooperation, to promote exchanges and cooperation in the fields of society, culture, sports, public health and environment and to establish a dialogue mechanism between the two governments at an earliest possible date. Besides, Kim Jong Il accepted Kim Dae-jung's invitation for a visit to Seoul, promising a continuation of the top-level inter-Korea dialogue. Both leaders hailed the summit as of great significance for strengthening mutual understanding, developing North-South relations and realizing peaceful reunification. The just-concluded summit is apparently a milestone in easing the tension on the peninsula, as it outlined new scenarios for the realization of reconciliation and unity of the Korean nation, exchange and cooperation, and peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula, thereby making contributions to peace in Asia and the whole world. The 1972 North-South Joint Communique first indicated the Korean people's desire for independent and peaceful national reunification and was the first step toward the improvement of the North-South relations. And now the Pyongyang summit opened a new chapter in the history of the peninsula. After all, one summit is far from being enough to remove the 55-year-long distrust between the two sides, more so with differences in social systems and ideologies taken into account. Greater courage and resolution is needed to see the agreements fully implemented and reach the ultimate goal of peaceful reunification of the peninsula. |
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