The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and South Korea held joint ceremonies on Wednesday to mark the fifth anniversary of the 2000 Inter-Korean Summit, calling for more efforts to promote peaceful reunification and to remove the danger of nuclear war on the Korean Peninsula.

Thousands of people from both the DPRK and South Korea, including government officials, representatives of political parties, and civic groups, joined "the Meeting for National Reunification" in Pyongyang, which is the first joint commemorative event for the Inter-Korean Summit held by the two governments.

Yang Hyong-sop, vice president of the DPRK's Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Gi-nam, vice chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland, and South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young participated in the meeting.

In a declaration adopted during the meeting, the two sides recognized the June 15 Joint Declaration, issued by DPRK's leader Kim Jong-il and then South Korean President Kim Dae-jong after their historic summit in mid-June 2000, as a declaration "that has opened up a wide avenue for national reunification before the Korean nation," saying that both sides of the Korean Peninsula have taken "a giant stride toward national reunification" during the past five years.

A 340-member South Korean delegation, led by Chung Dong-young, arrived in Pyongyang on Tuesday to take part in celebrations for the fifth anniversary of the Inter-Korean Summit.

Chung met with his counterpart on Wednesday and will hold talks with Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, the second-highest leader in the DPRK, on Thursday. South Korean media said Chung was likely to discuss inter-Korean cooperation and nuclear issues during his meetings with DPRK officials.

"We should resolve peacefully, through dialogue, the pending issues placed before the Korean peoples," Chung told the press Wednesday in Pyongyang.

The Koreans "should not hesitate, but lead in quickly eliminating the obstacles to ending the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula," the South Korean official also said.

On June 13-15, 2000, Kim Jong-il and Kim Dae-jong held the first ever inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang since the Korean Peninsula was separated into two parts in 1945. The two sides have carried out various government dialogues, civic exchanges, and economic cooperation since the Pyongyang Summit.

Source: Xinhua