DPRK urges US to agree to declare end to Korean War

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The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) reiterated on Thursday that the US should agree to declare an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War.

The Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea said that declaring an end to the Korean War is "the demand of our time" and will be the "first process" toward a peace and security guarantee.

It is "abnormal" to see the distrust and animosity continuing between the DPRK and the US even now, the newspaper added.

The ROK President Moon Jae-in (R) bids farewell to DPRK leader Kim Jong Un as he leaves after their summit at the truce village of Panmunjom, DPRK on May 26, 2018. /VCG Photo

During April's summit between the Republic of Korea's (ROK) President Moon Jae-in and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, the two sides agreed to work towards a formal end to the Korean War, which is set to be announced later this year.

While the US President Trump tweeted "KOREAN WAR TO END" after the summit, no progress seemed to have been made so far on that front.

Yonhap reported that the US remains cautious as it wants to see progress in the denuclearization talks first.

The newspaper stressed that the DPRK has long called for the US to declare an end to the war and pushed to replace the armistice with a peace treaty so as to boost bilateral cooperation.

Screenshot of a tweet by US President Donald Trump

Last month, DPRK state media put pressure on the ROK to "do its part" to realize the "historic task" of ending the Korean War.

In response, the ROK Unification Ministry said the government has reaffirmed its intention to declare an end to the Korean War by the end of this year and vowed to work closely with the US and DPRK on how to achieve that goal.

The DPRK and ROK remain technically at war as the Korean War ended only with an armistice treaty.