Two Koreas agree to push for peace

South and North Korea have agreed to push for measures to solidify peace and ease military tensions on the Korean Peninsula during four days of inter-Korean Cabinet-level talks held in Pyongyang last week.

Delegates from the two Koreas adopted a six-point statement Friday at the end of the talks.

"The South and North agreed to make efforts to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula and seek substantial measures to reduce military tension," a joint press statement said lacking concrete details, including not stating an actual peace treaty.

Focusing on the issue of establishing indefinite peace regime on the peninsula, both sides discussed taking practical measures to terminate the hostile relations that have continued since the end of 1950-53 Korean War, which ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty.

"The South and North agreed to take steps to promote national reconciliation and unity. In this regard, both sides agreed to try to develop their relationship by scrapping outdated concepts and practices and respecting the other side`s ideology and systems," the statement said.

Friday`s statement said the two Koreas shared an understanding that the talks between the military authorities should be opened and decided to recommend this to each other`s military authorities.

Although the agreement failed to state how both Koreas would achieve their goals, Seoul said the talks were a starting point of peaceful talks between the two countries.

"I think it`s meaningful that we discussed ending the Cold War confrontation and establishing a peace regime in a context that we choose and will decide our own fate," South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who led 39-member South Korean delegation to the talks, said after the talks concluded.

Economic exchanges between the two nations have flourished since a historic meeting between their leaders in 2000. And both sides agreed to remove barriers between their economies and implement points agreed upon during the 15th ministerial talks in Seoul.

The two Koreas also agreed to hold more reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War, setting the next round of reunions to being held in November. Both sides will hold two rounds of family reunions via video link-up before the end of this year.

In August, 40 separated family members from each side were allowed to see and talk with their relatives for the first time in a half century.

Friday`s agreement included that the sides will continue consultations between their respective Red Cross societies aimed at determining the fate of southern prisoners from the Korean War that Seoul thinks are still held in the North.

The two countries agreed to hold their next round of ministerial talks on the South Korea`s Jeju Island on Dec. 13-16.

(aibang@heraldm.com)



By Annie I. Bang