SEOUL, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Co-prosperity of the two Koreas would only be possible when relevant parties, including China, join in the denuclearization and the peace settlement on the Korean Peninsula, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday.
Moon made the remark at a meeting with presidents of 47 local media outlets ahead of the summit with Kim Jong Un, top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), scheduled for April 27 at the border village of Panmunjom, according to the presidential Blue House.
He said the ultimate goal of co-prosperity of the two Koreas, which Seoul and Pyongyang wished to achieve through denuclearization and peace, can only be made possible via the development of DPRK-U.S. and DPRK-Japan relations as well as China's support and participation.
Moon said it would not be much difficult to reach an agreement, in principle, to the denuclearized Korean Peninsula through the inter-Korean, DPRK-U.S. summits, a peace regime settlement and a normalized U.S.-DPRK ties after the denuclearization agreement, and international support for the DPRK's economic development.
Regarding the issues, the two Koreas and the relevant parties had an experience of reaching an agreement through the six-party talks, called the Sept. 19 joint statement announced in 2005, the South Korean leader said.
The six-party dialogue, which involved South Korea, the DPRK, China, the United States, Russia and Japan, has been halted since late 2008.
What would be difficult, Moon said, is how to implement the potential agreements concretely as the relevant parties, especially the DPRK and the United States, are required to find and agree on fresh ways of implementation.
Moon said things got very different from situations in 2007 when he prepared for the second inter-Korean summit as chief of staff for then President Roh Moo-hyun, who met in Pyongyang with then DPRK leader Kim Jong Il, father of the current leader Kim Jong Un.
Citing the highly advanced nuclear and missile technology of the DPRK, Moon said South Korea should first reach an agreement with Pyongyang about its nuclear and missile programs in the inter-Korean summit, which needs to be successfully accepted in the next DPRK-U.S. summit.
Only after the DPRK-U.S. and the DPRK-Japan relations are resolved, the inter-Korean relations can develop, Moon said, noting that South Korea can play a mediating role between Pyongyang and Washington to help the two sides narrow differences and seek actual ways which both sides can accept.
Meanwhile, Moon said a dramatic change is being unfolded on the Korean Peninsula citing the successive summits between the two Koreas and between the United States and the DPRK.
Through the upcoming inter-Korean summit, Moon said, South Korea should establish a firm milestone to open the road to the Korean Peninsula's denuclearization, the establishment of a permanent peace regime and the sustainable development of inter-Korean relations.
He noted South Korea should end the armistice system, which has lasted for the past 65 years, to sign peace treaty after declaring an end to the war.
The Korean Peninsula remains technically at war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in armistice, not peace treaty.
The Blue House said earlier this week that it was reviewing ways to turn the current armistice into a peace regime during the Moon-Kim summit next week.
Moon said the DPRK has shown its willingness toward a complete denuclearization and its active will to engage in a dialogue, while actively preparing for the summit with the United States.
Moon, however, added that it was currently premature to say about a successful dialogue as the success cannot be said of until both the inter-Korean and the DPRK-U.S. summits end successfully.
