President of South Korea (Lee Jae-myung) said on April 27 that “our government will steadily pursue a policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” adding that he expects North Korea to respond in good faith.
In a congratulatory message for the 8th anniversary ceremony of the Panmunjom Declaration held at the National Assembly Members’ Office Building, Lee said, “We will take the initiative in implementing measures we can undertake first to restore inter-Korean trust and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula.” The message was delivered on his behalf by Hong Ik-pyo, senior presidential secretary for political affairs.
Lee said, “Through the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, there was great hope that a new era of peace and prosperity would finally open on the Korean Peninsula, but regrettably, that promise was not kept,” adding that “relations between the South and the North are blocked by a cold and high wall defined as ‘two hostile states.’”
He continued, “Nevertheless, it is the shared destiny of both Koreas to make peace bloom on a land of division and hostility,” noting that “war and confrontation lead not to coexistence, but to mutual destruction.”
Lee emphasized that “ending the war, establishing a permanent peace regime, and achieving coexistence and shared prosperity between the two Koreas are the core spirit of the Panmunjom Declaration and the future we must pursue,” adding that “we must ensure that uncertainty and instability in the international situation caused by conflicts in the Middle East do not spill over to the Korean Peninsula, and create conditions where all people on the peninsula can live without fear of war.”
Lee noted that since the launch of his administration, it has set “peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula” as its top priority and has taken preemptive measures toward that goal. He also said the government has clearly stated principles of respecting the North’s system, not pursuing unification through absorption, and refraining from all hostile acts.
He added, “Even if winter is long, spring eventually comes,” expressing confidence that “if we steadily accumulate efforts toward peaceful coexistence and shared growth with the mindset of building a mountain from small amounts of soil, a full spring will return to the Korean Peninsula.”