Pyongyang calls for advancement of inter-Korean ties

North Korea on Monday urged South Korea to fulfil the joint declarations made by heads of the two countries and embrace a turning point in the inter-Korean ties.

To mark the 15th anniversary of the signing of the historic June 15 Joint Declaration which was adopted at the north-south summit held in Pyongyang in 2000, North Korea issued a government statement, calling for an end to confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and improvement of the deteriorating inter-Korean relations, Xinhua news agency reported.

On June 15, 2000, then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong Il, met in Pyongyang and signed the Joint Declaration which contains a consensus on Korea's reunification

The statement, which was carried by the state-run KCNA news agency, said that issues including amelioration of the inter-Korean ties and Korea's reunification should be addressed independent of interference from the outside.

Pyongyang urged Seoul to halt its joint military drills with the US, saying the "north-south relations cannot improve, nor a nuclear war can be defused on the Korean Peninsula, as long as such military threats and provocations continue to exist."

To implement the north-south declarations, practical actions should be taken, the statement said.

"If the atmosphere of trust and reconciliation between the north and south is created, then there is no reason that dialogue and negotiations are not launched."