hankyoreh

South and North Korea Thursday agreed to support international talks on North Korea's denuclearization and to arrange a meeting of concerned parties to establish a peace regime to replace the fragile armistice which ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

In an eight-point joint declaration signed by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il at the end of a three-day summit here, the sides also agreed to end military hostility and significantly expand inter-Korean cooperation in politics, the economy, denuclearization and other pending issues.

The agreement comes just one day after Pyongyang agreed Wednesday on detailed measures for the declaration of its nuclear programs and the disablement of its nuclear facilities by the end of the year under a denuclearization deal signed in February.

By signing the document supporting the nuclear talks, the reclusive North Korean leader for the first time personally committed to the North's denuclearization.

The leaders of the two Koreas called for a summit of heads of relevant countries to officially end the Korean War. The United States and China, which fought alongside South and North Korea in the war respectively, are signatories to the armistice, which left the Korean Peninsula technically at war.

Roh and Kim also agreed to hold talks at the prime minister level in Seoul next month to discuss detailed measures to implement the agreements of the joint declaration.

The two Korean leaders also agreed to create a special peace zone in the disputed inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea and decided to hold bilateral defense ministerial talks in Pyongyang in November to discuss the maritime border issue.

"South and North Korea agreed to closely cooperate with each other in the efforts to put an end to hostile military relations and ensure detente and peace on the Korean Peninsula," said the joint declaration.

"Two Koreas agreed not to antagonize each other but to ease military tension and settle disputes through dialogue and negotiations. Both sides agreed to oppose any war on the peninsula and faithfully honor the commitment of non-aggression," said the document.


PYONGYANG, Oct. 4 (Yonhap)