Moon Jae-in

“ As President of the South, I cannot express in words how overwhelming it is to be given this opportunity by Chairman of the State Affairs Commission Kim Jong Un to greet you. Citizens of Pyeongyang, we are now forging a new era together in this way.
Chairman Kim Jong Un and I met at Panmunjeom on April 27 and shared a heartfelt embrace. We two leaders solemnly declared to 80 million Koreans and to the entire world that there would be no more war on the Korean Peninsula and that a new era of peace had opened. ”

“ If circumstances permit in the future, South and North Korea may be able to develop it into offices established in each other’s territory. Today, Chairman Kim and I set up an unwavering milestone toward the denuclearization and permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, common prosperity of the nation, and unification of the two Koreas.
Thanks to Chairman Kim Jong Un’s bold decisions, we are able to give good presents to the peoples of South and North Korea as well as to the world. The way of making the public announcement also makes today’s summit even more special. ”

“ In the afternoon, the day before yesterday, Chairman Kim conveyed his wish to meet me without any formality, and I readily agreed. I have long emphasized how important it is for the leaders of the two Koreas to meet regularly and communicate directly with each other as a means of overcoming inter-Korean confrontation and discord. It is one of the items contained in the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration. In this context, I attach a great significance to yesterday’s summit, which was held like a routine meeting between friends, as I do to the historic inter-Korean summit in April. ”

“ The South and North agreed today to eliminate all risks that could lead to war from all parts of the Korean Peninsula.
A joint inter-Korean military committee will be formed to enable constant consultations on implementing military-related agreements. Even though the sounds of artillery fire of the Korean War were silenced by the 1953 Armistice Agreement, war has continued to haunt our lives for the past 65 years.
Young lives have been lost needlessly, and invisible walls have arisen between neighbors. ”

“ When the top of a mountain starts to become visible, taking a step forward becomes even harder. As such, the road to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and peace will never be easy. However, as President, I will take the road and will succeed without fail by fully exercising my authority and fulfilling the duty entrusted to me by the Korean people. ”

“ The demilitarized zone, which cuts across the Korean Peninsula, will be transformed into a peace zone in the true sense. The areas around the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea will be turned into a maritime peace zone so as to prevent accidental military clashes and guarantee safe fishing activities for fishermen of both Koreas. ”

“ To this end, we agreed to convene the inter-Korean high-level talks on June 1 to be followed by the talks between the military authorities to ease military tensions and the Red Cross talks for the reunion of separated families.
We gave a high evaluation to the fact that the summit yesterday was arranged in a speedy manner without sticking to formalities as the occasion demanded and agreed to communicate or sit together to have candid discussions whenever necessary. Fellow citizens,
In hindsight, we have always felt uneasy for a long time through last year. ”

“ South and North Korea will immediately conduct cooperation and exchanges at all levels in order to rejuvenate the sense of national reconciliation and unity. The reunion of separated families will proceed before it becomes too late, and they will be able to visit their hometowns and exchange letters. ”

“ We also confirmed the principle of autonomy for our people, whereby we ourselves determine our own fate.
By developing inter-Korean relations in an all-embracing and groundbreaking manner, we firmly pledged to reconnect Korea’s arteries and to hasten a future of common prosperity and reunification on our own terms.
Moreover, it was agreed that President Moon Jae-in would visit Pyeongyang this fall as I am doing now. ”

“ We agreed to cooperate on a bid to jointly host the 2032 Summer Olympics. We also decided to make concrete preparations for joint events to mark the 100th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement. ”