A statement from the North Korean government in Pyongyang said that the North and South should reunify through a federalization process so that different ideologies can co-exist under one unified Korea.
“The north and the south should specify the reunification proposals by way of federation and confederation and make efforts to realize them and thus actively promote co-existence, co-prosperity, and common interests,” said North Korea’s statement.
North Korea said that both the North and South should try to find “reasonable reunification proposals to achieve reunification through a federal formula in Korea where differing ideologies and social systems exist.”
Pyongyang said the “Joint Declaration,” signed June 15, 2000 by South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, would be a good starting point for negotiations. “In the June 15 joint declaration the north and south recognized that there are common points in the north-proposed low-level federation and the south-proposed confederation, and agreed to work for reunification in this direction in the future,” said North Korean officials.
The North said that both sides should end the “reckless hostility and confrontation,” and that the south must stop its “north-targeted war exercises,” along with its dependence upon “outsiders” to resolve inter-Korea disputes. The Pyongyang statement read:
[North and South] should solve all issues by their own efforts in the common interests of the nation from the stand of putting the nation above all, attaching importance to the nation and achieving national unity. The north and the south should never fall a victim to outsiders keen on catching fish in troubled waters through the division of Korea.
In an effort to show its ongoing commitment to Korea’s unification, North Korea announced plans to send a cheering squad to the Incheon Asian Games, which are to be held in South Korea from September 19 to October 4th.
“Our thoughtful measures will thaw relations on the divided Korean Peninsula through national reconciliation and display the two Koreas’ commitment to unification to the world,” said a statement from Pyongyang.
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