AINDF Calls for Ushering in New Era of Independent Reunification by Implementing Panmunjom Declaration

Pyongyang, August 15 (KCNA) -- The Central Committee of the Anti-Imperialist National Democratic Front appealed to all the people to open up wide a new era of independent reunification by thoroughly implementing the Panmunjom declaration on Wednesday, the 73rd anniversary of the liberation of Korea.

The appeal said that the adoption of the Panmunjom declaration in April was an event of great significance common to the nation which raised new hope for the south-north relations and great trust in the settlement of peace on the Korean peninsula, land over which once hung the dark clouds of confrontation and war.

It noted that in the course of the struggle of more than 100 days for implementing the Panmunjom declaration multi-faceted dialogues, contacts and exchanges for improving the relations were held between the south and the north on a regular basis, efforts were made to defuse military tension and the pro-reunification public sentiment calling for alliance with the north grew stronger.

It pointed out that the south-north relations that had once been utterly frozen under the conservative regime have greeted its thawing season and a strong trend for national reconciliation, reunification and prosperity has been created, a proud fruition of the Panmunjom declaration.

Now the authorities of the south hesitate to actively join the trend of national reconciliation which made a new start, talking about "speed control" of the south-north relations, the appeal said, and went on:

The situation demands that the unwarranted moves of the U.S. resorting to old hostile policy toward the north and the sanctions and pressure on it indifferent to the desire of the Korean nation and those moves of the authorities kowtowing to the U.S. be rejected and that the Korean people courageously turn out in the struggle to preserve and implement the Panmunjom declaration with responsibility.

Those who are responsible for bringing about a new morning of reunification and prosperity are just the Koreans and what they should rely on is just their own strength.

It is the unanimous demand of our people and the firm will of all the fellow countrymen to open up a heyday of improving the relations by persistently pushing forward the new trend of the south-north relations which started at Panmunjom, the land of history.

Let us adopt the declaration on ending war, build a peace mechanism to make durable peace and stability settle on the Korean peninsula as specified in the Panmunjom declaration!

Let us not insist on "denuclearization first" only and never pardon the unreasonable act of the U.S. forcing the north to make a unilateral concession!

There should not be separation between the authorities and the people in making efforts for implementing the Panmunjom declaration and there should never be progressive and conservative, class and strata separation in those efforts.

The appeal called on all to spur the all-people struggle for ending the history of division and confrontation and ushering in a new era of peace, prosperity and reunification by upholding the sun of reunification, and thus bring earlier the great event of national reunification, the true liberation. -0-