DPRK Sends Rare Announcement to All Koreans, Calls for Unification

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On Thursday, after a joint meeting of DPRK government and political leaders, state media outlet KCNA sent a rare announcement addressed to “all Koreans at home and abroad”:

We should make a breakthrough for unification without the help of other countries. All Koreans should promote contact, travel, and cooperation between the DPRK and the ROK; Pyongyang will smash all challenges against reunification of the Korean peninsula. Koreans should wage an energetic drive to defuse the acute military tension and create a peaceful climate on the Korean peninsula. Military tension on the Korean peninsula is a fundamental obstacle for the improvement of inter-Korean relations and unification. Joint military drills with outside forces have been unhelpful for the development of relations between the DPRK and the ROK. This year is meaningful for both Koreas as it’s the 70th anniversary of the founding of the DPRK whilst the ROK will host the Winter Olympics next month.

The DPRK didn’t provide details why the meeting occurred, but the statement said it aimed to support leader Kim Jong-un’s remarks regarding unification in his New Year’s address.

24 January 2018

Reuters

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-southkorea-kcna/north-korea-sends-rare-announcement-to-all-koreans-calls-for-unification-idUSKBN1FD33I