SEOUL, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The just-concluded inter-Korean summit has seen South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreeing on reconciliation and cooperation, bringing hope for lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.
At the border village of Panmunjom on Friday, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un confirmed a common goal of complete denuclearization and agreed to push for multilateral talks to turn the current armistice agreement into a peace treaty.
The move, which helped ease tensions between the two sides and rekindled the hope of achieving lasting peace for the peninsula, was regarded a positive step for peace and prosperity.
A number of countries including China have welcomed the development. China welcomed the joint declaration reached between the DPRK and South Korea, expressing the hope that both sides can implement the consensus of the summit to promote reconciliation and cooperation, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said.
During their historic summit, Moon and Kim signed their joint declaration - the Panmunjom Declaration for Peace, Prosperity and Unification of the Korean Peninsula.
In this document, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula via complete denuclearization.
They also agreed to actively push for talks, involving South Korea, the DPRK, China and the United States, to establish a permanent, firm peace regime with a view to declaring an end to the 1950-1953 Korean War and turning the armistice agreement into a peace treaty this year.
The Korean Armistice Agreement was signed on July 27, 1953. Ending the current abnormal armistice and establishing a firm peace regime on the peninsula is a historical mission that cannot be delayed any more, the document said.
The Panmunjom Declaration is composed of three main themes: the establishment of a peace regime, efforts to ease military tensions, and co-prosperity and unification of the two countries.
"Peace, a New Start," as the slogan that the South Korean government set for the inter-Korean summit goes, a good momentum is being formed toward achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula.
One week prior to the summit, the DPRK leader said at the Third Plenary Meeting of the Seventh Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea that his country would discontinue nuclear and missile tests, close down its main nuclear testing facility in Punggye-ri, and concentrate efforts on economic development.
Professor Hugh White, a strategic studies expert from the Australian National University, regarded the inter-Korean summit as a very important meeting, which would have the potential of marking a major shift in northeast Asian strategic affairs.
According to the professor, the inter-Korean summit could also be very important in setting the scene for the planned meeting between Kim and U.S. President Donald Trump, which has been initially set for late May or early June.
Chen Gang, senior research fellow at the East Asian Institute of the National University of Singapore, said the dual-track suggestions proposed by China are appropriate ways to solve the Korean Peninsula issue.
The analyst suggested that on one hand the DPRK make efforts toward denuclearization, and on the other hand the United States and South Korea promised to give security guarantee for Pyongyang, like reducing the U.S. military presence on the Korean Peninsula, scaling down military exercise in this region, reducing hostilities and assisting the DPRK economically.
