President Lee Jae Myung on April 9 chairs a meeting with his senior secretaries and aides at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul. (Cheong Wa Dae)
By Lee Dasom
President Lee Jae Myung on April 27 said, "My administration will steadfastly pursue a policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."
He said this in a congratulatory speech read by Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs, at a ceremony marking the eighth anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration of 2018 at the Grand Conference Room of the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Seoul's Yeongdeungpo-gu District.
"To restore trust between the two Koreas and bring peace to the Korean Peninsula, we will proactively take the steps that we can take first," the president said. "I hope the North will also trust our government's sincerity and give a positive response."
"Ending the war and forming a permanent peace regime, as well as coexistence and prosperity between both Koreas, form the core spirit of the Panmunjeom Declaration and the future we must push for," he added. "In particular, we must create a path in which everyone on the Korean Peninsula can live without fear of war and ensure that global uncertainty and instability triggered by the war in the Middle East do not affect the Peninsula."
"Since its launch, my people's sovereignty administration has set peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula as its top priority. To this end, we've taken preemptive measures to restore trust between both Koreas," he said. "We've always made clear our principle of respecting the North's system, not pursuing unification through absorption and refraining from any hostile acts."
"Spring will eventually come no matter how long winter might be," the president said in concluding his speech. "I strongly believe that if we build our efforts toward peaceful coexistence and joint growth step by step, a full spring will return to the Korean Peninsula in the spirit of jeokto seongsan (積土成山, 'piling soil to form a mountain')."
dlektha0319@korea.kr
