President Moon Jae-in calls upon North Korea to return to the spirit of the Oct. 4, 2007, South-North summit declaration, at a celebration to mark the declaration’s 10th anniversary at the 63 Building in Seoul on Sept. 26.

By Yoon Sojung and Kim Young Shin

Photos = Cheong Wa Dae 

On Sept. 26, President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons and to return to the same state as relationships were on Oct. 4, 2007, when an inter-Korean declaration was signed. 

The declaration made on Oct. 4, 2007, was the result of the 2007 Inter-Korean Summit in Pyongyang, where President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il met. The agreement aimed to promote the growth of the South-North relationship, and to push for peace and prosperity between Seoul and Pyongyang. 

“The declaration embodies the devotion and the spirit of former governments that tried to bring reconciliation and a peaceful reunification to the South and the North,” said President Moon at the ceremony held at the 63 Building in Seoul to mark the 10th anniversary of the Inter-Korean summit declaration made on Oct. 4, 2007. “If the declaration had been fulfilled, the situation of the Korean Peninsula would have been very different from now.” 

“However, over the past 10 years, all the efforts made by the former administrations, including the declaration, have come to nothing,” said President Moon. “The people who dreamed to make a new Korea through the Candlelight Revolution and who expect a new page of history between South and North, would feel sad about the situation.” 

As a solution to North Korea’s nuclear weapons issues, President Moon stressed the importance of returning to the Oct. 4, 2007, declaration. 

President Moon also expressed concern over the current security situation on the Korean Peninsula, saying that, “It`s more severe than at any other time.” He said to North Korean leaders and authorities that, “I hope that South and North can together declare that the Oct. 4, 2007, declaration is still valid. I urge North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons and missile provocations and to return to the spirit of the Oct. 4, 2007, declaration.” 

“Many of the agreements made at the summit can still be applied today,” he explained, mentioning the elements concerning peace and arms control, and the restoration of military talks, humanitarian cooperation and reunions of separated families. “We have to get over the crisis of the nuclear weapons and missile threats, and get back to the spirit of the Oct. 4, 2007, declaration,” he said. “If the politicians come together, regardless of the benefits of their parties, and if the citizens unite with peace as the ultimate goal, we could overcome this critical situation.” 

“We will not tolerate the North’s nuclear weapons,” said President Moon. “We will make North Korea realize that they will have no future if they insist on standing against the world with their nuclear weapons,” he said. “Nothing can stop our journey to bring peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula. If the North suspends its imprudent choices, the table of conversation and negotiation is always open.” 

President Moon Jae-in and first lady Kin Jung-sook offer a toast to other dignitaries during a ceremony to mark the 10th anniversary of the Oct. 4, 2007, South-North summit declaration, at the 63 Building in Seoul on Sept. 26.

***