South Korea, DPRK sign joint declaration

North Korean leader Kim Jong-il (R) and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun exchange the a joint statement after they signed it in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, October 4, 2007. [Photo: Reuters]

Thursday was a historic day for South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

President Roh Moo-hyun and top leader Kim Jong-il pledged to bring peace and to end their decades-long standoff across the world's last Cold War frontier. This, just a day after the DPRK signed an international deal to disable its nuclear facilities.

In a joint declarationt signed at the end of their three-day meeting in Pyongyang, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and DPRK top leader Kim Jong-il said the two sides shared the view that they must end the current armistice regime and build a permanent peace regime.

The two countries also agreed to expand economic cooperation that had flourished during this decade as political tensions eased. A new special peace zone in the Yellow Sea west of the Korean Peninsula is to be established, including a joint fishing area in disputed waters. The two sides pledged to promote cooperation in agriculture, health, medicine and the environment, repair a railway and highway in the DPRK and cooperate in the development of natural resources.

A farewell ceremony was held for Roh Moo-hyun as his motorcade drove through the Demilitarized Zone. The South Korean leader expressed satisfaction with the summit at a reception to mark his return.

Roh Moo-hyun said, "The relationship between the South and the North entered into a new stage. Real efforts that can lead to solidification of peace on the Korean peninsula and ease military tension began. Also the inter-Korean economic cooperation moved a step forward that can build a communal economic system across the Korean peninsula."

The two leaders are expected to push for talks next month with China and the United States to formally end military hostility between the two sides. The two sides technically remain at war because a peace treaty has yet to be signed.