Two Koreas hold first joint event to celebrate Oct. 4 anniversary

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01:06

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday held their first-ever joint event to celebrate the anniversary of the 2007 inter-Korean summit.

The ROK side sent 160 representatives including government officials, politicians, civic, religious and cultural figures to DPRK's capital Pyongyang. The event was to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the second inter-Korean summit on Oct. 4, 2007, which involved then ROK President Roh Moo-hyun and then DPRK leader Kim Jong Il.

After the summit, the two leaders signed a document named the October 4 Declaration, promising to cooperate in building mutual trust, easing tensions and fostering inter-Korean economic cooperation. The agreement was not implemented amid ensuing security tensions between the two Koreas and a change of government in the ROK.

Chairman of the DPRK's Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, Ri Son-Gwon (R) greets ROK's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon at the Pyongyang International Airport in Pyongyang, the DPRK, on October 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

"The history of failures to fully carry out the June 15 and October 4 declarations should not be repeated," a joint letter read.

Two sides also urged for efforts to make the Korean Peninsula free of nuclear weapons and threats, while working together in expanding cross-border exchanges and cooperation.

The event was joined by high-ranking DPRK's officials including the DPRK's president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong Nam and Ri Son Gwon, chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country.

In a speech, Kim Yong Nam called for all-out efforts to implement the summit deals reached this year between the two Koreas.

Ri expressed hope for the resumption of a tour program to Mount Kumgang and the operation of an industrial complex in Kaesong, two major inter-Korean projects suspended years ago over chilled relations.

The ROK delegation, led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and ruling Democratic Party (DP) leader Lee Hae-chan, arrived in Pyongyang Thursday. It also included Roh Geon-ho, a son of the late ROK president, as well as cultural figures.

It marks the first time that the two Koreas jointly celebrated the 2007 summit, the second such event following the first-ever inter-Korean summit in 2000.

ROK's Unification Minister Cho Myoung-Gyon (L), ruling Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-Chan (front R), late ROK's President Roh Moo-Hyun's son Roh Geon-Ho (3rd L) and other ROK's officials leave for the DPRK at the Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, ROK, on October 4, 2018. /VCG Photo

The ROK President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un agreed to hold an event to mark the 2007 summit during their third summit in Pyongyang last month.

(With input from agencies)