By Park Ji-won
The two Koreas may hold a joint event to commemorate the June 15 joint declaration between the two made in 2000 by the heads of both governments. Participation of the leaders and their unification chiefs is likely dependant on the outcome of the Kim-Trump summit on June 12.
According to media reports, the South Korean government is planning to suggest to the North during a high-level meeting on June 1 that the two Koreas' unification chiefs, the South's Cho Myoung-gyon and North's Ri Sun-kwon, participate in the joint event on June 15. The two are planning to attend the high-level meeting.
"The South Korean government will actively engage in the June 15 joint event as it was written in the Panmunjeom Declaration and plans to finalize the list of members who would join the event through high-ranking talks between the two Koreas which are slated for June 1," unification ministry officials said.
KTV quoted Oh Kyung-sub, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, as saying, "There will be no reason for the North to refuse to participate in the inter-Korean event, as it is not relevant to U.N. sanctions." The June 15 joint event had been held from 2001 to 2008 during the presidencies of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, but it was suspended by later conservative administrations until this year. The event has been organized by private organizations to commemorate the joint declaration between the two Koreas' leaders Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il for the unification of the Korean Peninsula. Government officials had participated in the meeting two times in 2005 and 2006.
There has been public attention as to whether the North's unification chief will join the event amid the fast-changing political situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
The two countries have exchanged lists of members for the high-ranking meeting set for June 1 in Panmunjeom after the third inter-Korean meeting on April 27 to discuss the details centered on the implementation of the Panmunjeom Declaration. The ministry officials have been preparing for the June 15 joint event with the North.
It formed a taskforce with other government organizations continuing to have discussions with civil organizations.
However, the possibility of the event is volatile, as relations between North Korea and the U.S. have been dependent on the outcome of the North-U.S. summit that is scheduled for June 12. The talks had been briefly canceled last week by U.S. President Trump citing the North's "open hostility" against the U.S.
The June 15 declaration has been the foundation of building relations between the two Koreas, as it was the first-ever written document between leaders of the two Koreas since the peninsula's division in the 1940s.
The two Koreas may hold a joint event to commemorate the June 15 joint declaration between the two made in 2000 by the heads of both governments. Participation of the leaders and their unification chiefs is likely dependant on the outcome of the Kim-Trump summit on June 12.
According to media reports, the South Korean government is planning to suggest to the North during a high-level meeting on June 1 that the two Koreas' unification chiefs, the South's Cho Myoung-gyon and North's Ri Sun-kwon, participate in the joint event on June 15. The two are planning to attend the high-level meeting.
"The South Korean government will actively engage in the June 15 joint event as it was written in the Panmunjeom Declaration and plans to finalize the list of members who would join the event through high-ranking talks between the two Koreas which are slated for June 1," unification ministry officials said.
KTV quoted Oh Kyung-sub, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, as saying, "There will be no reason for the North to refuse to participate in the inter-Korean event, as it is not relevant to U.N. sanctions." The June 15 joint event had been held from 2001 to 2008 during the presidencies of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, but it was suspended by later conservative administrations until this year. The event has been organized by private organizations to commemorate the joint declaration between the two Koreas' leaders Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il for the unification of the Korean Peninsula. Government officials had participated in the meeting two times in 2005 and 2006.
There has been public attention as to whether the North's unification chief will join the event amid the fast-changing political situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
The two countries have exchanged lists of members for the high-ranking meeting set for June 1 in Panmunjeom after the third inter-Korean meeting on April 27 to discuss the details centered on the implementation of the Panmunjeom Declaration. The ministry officials have been preparing for the June 15 joint event with the North.
It formed a taskforce with other government organizations continuing to have discussions with civil organizations.
However, the possibility of the event is volatile, as relations between North Korea and the U.S. have been dependent on the outcome of the North-U.S. summit that is scheduled for June 12. The talks had been briefly canceled last week by U.S. President Trump citing the North's "open hostility" against the U.S.
The June 15 declaration has been the foundation of building relations between the two Koreas, as it was the first-ever written document between leaders of the two Koreas since the peninsula's division in the 1940s.
