By Kim Eun-young and Kim Young Shin
Photos = 2018 Inter-Korean Summit Press Corps

Aug. 4 marks exactly 100 days since the official announcement of the Panmunjeom Declaration on April 27, and on Aug. 3 Cheong Wa Dae noted that peace has now permeated all across people's day-to-day lives thanks to the Panmunjeom Declaration.

“Last year, the threat of war on the Korean Peninsula was higher than ever because of the North’s continued nuclear tests and missile firings,” said Cheong Wa Dae in a press release. “However, since the Panmunjeom Declaration, there have been discussions about the complete denuclearization and about a lasting peace between the South and the North, and between North Korea and the U.S., and people have become entirely free from the fear of war.”

The president's office highlighted the fact that there have been no nuclear tests or missile launches conducted by the North this year, and that Pyeongyang has started to move toward complete denuclearization, with steps like destroying a nuclear test site, a missile engine test site and a launching station.

Cheong Wa Dae also said that the conversation between South and North has become routinized by building trust through military talks. It said that while going through several high-level talks and department-level talks, the conversation and consultations between the two Koreas has been institutionalized. It also noted that Seoul and Pyeongyang have established a relationship in which the two sides can contact each other casually, taking the May 26 Inter-Korean Summit as an example.

The presidential office stressed that the Singapore Summit on June 12 and the joint statement signed by North Korea and U.S. leaders are also fruits of the Panmunjeom Declaration. It said, “These created an opportunity for North Korea to make contact with multiple nations and to expand its contacts with the rest of the world."

Cheong Wa Dae also praised other joint events between the two Koreas, such as the North’s participation in the PyeongChang 2018 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the exchanges of special envoys between Seoul and Pyeongyang, the reciprocal visits and concerts by South and North Korean artists, hosting a joint basketball tournament, forming a joint team for the Asian Games 2018 Jakarta-Palembang, and agreeing on the reunion of families separated by the Korean War.

“In the 100 days since the Panmunjeom Declaration, there has been the start of a brave journey toward an era of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula,” said Cheong Wa Dae. “The administration will institutionalize peace and prosperity by bringing denuclearization, and by building peace on the Korean Peninsula, and normalizing the inter-Korean relationship, based on cooperation with the international community and with a social consensus from the people.”



eykim86@korea.kr