North Korea urges South Korea to actively complete “historic mission”

The leaders of South and North Korea reached an agreement at the summit on April 27. Photo: KBS News

South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un agreed at their April 27 summit to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean War this year, replacing the armistice agreement that ended hostilities with a peace treaty toward lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“As the South Korean government also has the obligation to carry out the contents agreed upon in the Panmunjom Declaration, it should not sit idly by on the issue of declaring an end to the war,” Uriminzokkiri, North Korea’s English-language foreign propaganda website, said.

“It is a historic task that cannot be delayed any further to build a solid peace mechanism through ending the current unnatural state of armistice on the Korean Peninsula,” the page added.

Meari, another North Korean propaganda website, also urged the Seoul government to “do its part” in working toward a declaration to end the Korean War, adding that the agreement reached at the inter-Korean summit in April would lose meaning if the South Korean government did not act.

Observers say the reports from North Korean media suggest Pyongyang is unhappy with what it sees as slow progress in talks on formally ending the war.

In a statement issued shortly after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo concluded his visit and left Pyongyang earlier this month, North Korea's Foreign Ministry criticized Washington for not making enough efforts to build lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“The US side has never mentioned the issue of establishing a peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, which is extremely important to defuse tensions and prevent a war,” the ministry said.