President Lee: "Journey Toward Korean Peninsula Peace Won't Be Easy... But Still Path We Must Take"

▲ President Lee Jae-myung

President Lee Jae-myung emphasized on the 19th anniversary of the October 4 Inter-Korean Summit that "the journey to resolve Korean Peninsula issues and solidify peace will by no means be easy," adding, "Yet, it is clear that this is still the path we must take."

President Lee made the remarks in a congratulatory message read on his behalf by Vice Minister of Unification Kim Nam-jung at a ceremony commemorating the 19th anniversary of the October 4 Inter-Korean Summit Declaration, held today (October 4) at Dorasan Station in Paju, Gyeonggi Province.

Explaining its significance, President Lee said, "The (2007) October 4 Inter-Korean Summit Declaration was a promise between the leaders of the two Koreas to firmly solidify peace," describing it as "a historic agreement to transform inter-Korean relations into one of mutual respect and trust, end military hostilities, and work together to build a lasting peace regime beyond the armistice system."

He added, "Unfortunately, as the promise toward peace and prosperity was not kept, hostility and confrontation took its place," and "hostility and confrontation were even misused as a pretext to threaten democracy."

Emphasizing the need to return to the spirit of the October 4 Declaration, President Lee said that his recent proposals for inclusive peaceful coexistence, stable peaceful coexistence that eliminates the need to fight, and responsible peaceful coexistence that contributes to world peace serve as "a blueprint that reinterprets the spirit embedded in the October 4 Declaration in the language of today."

He then urged, "I ask everyone to join together so that lasting peace can take root in this land, carrying forward President Roh Moo-hyun's conviction and commitment to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula."

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