DPRK says 'historic meeting' opens 'new era for peace'

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The inter-Korean summit between the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Kim Jong Un and the Republic of Korea (ROK) President Moon Jae-in was a "historic meeting" that paved the way for the start of a new era, Pyongyang's state media said Saturday.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said it was a "historic meeting that has opened a new era for national reconciliation and unity, peace and prosperity," and carried the text of the leaders' Panmunjom Declaration in full.

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In the document, the two leaders "confirmed the common goal of realizing, through complete denuclearization, a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." That phrase was also included in the KCNA text.

"The historic meeting at Panmunjom came to be realized thanks to the supreme leader's ardent love for the people and will for self-determination," KCNA said.

When Kim stepped over the military demarcation line that divides the peninsula, he became the first DPRK leader to set foot in the ROK since Korean War hostilities ceased in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. He then persuaded Moon to step into the DPRK, and the two leaders shared a day of smiles, intimate moments, and a half hour one-on-one conversation.

KCNA later confirmed that Kim and Moon had agreed on a common goal of "complete denuclearization."

This is the first time for the agency to inform the DPRK public of the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula signed by Kim and Moon one day ago.

The two leaders confirmed a common goal of complete denuclearization and agreed to push for multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty after their first-ever summit held in Panmunjom on Friday.

In recent years, the DPRK had repeatedly stressed that it would not abandon its nuclear program. Signing the joint declaration shows a dramatic shift in its nuclear policy.

Source(s): AFP ,Xinhua News Agency