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Rodong Sinmun on North-South Joint Declaration

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK via Korea News Service (KNS)

    Pyongyang, May 8 (KCNA) -- The reunification era after the historic Pyongyang meeting and the adoption and publication of the north-south joint declaration on June 15, 2000, first of its kind, 55 years after Korea's division, is the era of independence and reunification and the era of "By our nation itself" when the idea of independence and reunification has become that of the whole nation and a new phase of reconciliation, cooperation and reunification has opened on the Korean Peninsula where an atmosphere of antagonism and confrontation prevailed. Rodong Sinmun Sunday says this in a signed article.
    It goes on:
    Leader Kim Jong Il, who has the firm idea of independence and reunification and noble ideal of patriotism, saw through the subjective and objective circumstances of the movement for national reunification and the trend of the situation with his outstanding wisdom, scientific insight and extraordinary leadership ability, provided the historic Pyongyang meeting and opened a new chapter in the history of national reunification. The meeting, first of its kind in the history of national division spanning over half a century, adopted the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration which calls for settling the issue of national reunification independently by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation itself.
    This opened a new era when the north and the south of Korea reconcile and cooperate with each other and achieve independent reunification, the June 15 era when the movement for national reunification advances on the orbit of national independence.
    The June 15 era which reflects the mature requirements of the development of the national history and the practical demands of the struggle for national reunification is the era of "By our nation itself" when national reconciliation and independent reunification become an irresistible trend.
    The idea of "By our nation itself," the core of the June 15 joint declaration, is the idea of national independence which does not allow interference of any outside forces but helps the Korean nation solve the issue of the nation, the issue of national reunification by its concerted efforts.
    It is the proud reality of the reunification era after the June 15 joint declaration, unimaginable in the past, that the north-south relations of antagonism and confrontation have turned into the relations of "By our nation itself" and dialogue, cooperation, visits and the reunification movement have been unprecedentedly activated under the banner of "By our nation itself."
    The idea of "By our nation itself" serves as the invariable banner of the whole Korean nation in the struggle to bring about a dramatic turning phase of peace and independent reunification through three forms of cooperation for national independence, peace against war and reunification and patriotism and displays its greater might as the days go by.
    It is the vital task of the Korean nation at present to firmly defend and apply the idea. Herein lies the way of tiding over the present difficulties and glorifying the reunification era after the June 15 joint declaration and a bright future of the Korean nation.