이인영 "합의는 이행을 통해 완성...남북 연락사무소 복원•대화 재개 희망"<br /><br />This Saturday on September 19th, the two Koreas will mark two years since the 2018 Inter Korean Summit in Pyeongyang and the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.<br />With just a few days left until the anniversary, South Korea's unification minister made his first visit to the truce village of Panmunjeom since taking office in July.<br />There, he urged North Korea to stick to the agreements reached during the 2018 summits.<br />Kim Dami has the details.<br />Unification minister Lee In-young has again called on Pyeongyang to stick to the agreements reached between the two Koreas following the two 2018 summits.<br />Expressing hope of reopening lines of communication and resuming open-minded dialogue, Lee said the agreements can be reached together.<br />"In order to carry out what was envisioned by the leaders of the two sides and start a fresh, joint efforts from the South and the North should continue to move things forward."<br />Lee's first Panmunjeom visit on Wednesday came just a few days before the second anniversary of the 2018 Pyeongyang Joint Declaration.<br />On September 19th, 2018, the leaders of the two Koreas shook hands, agreeing to denuclearization and to put an end to hostilities on the Peninsula.<br />As part of efforts to fulfill those wishes, the minister underlines that it's crucial to build trust among the two Koreas and the U.S.<br />"Inter-Korean cooperation in humanitarian areas including healthcare and climate change should be pursued throughout the year based on communication with Washington...regardless of what the current situation is."<br />Minister Lee voiced hope for holding small-scale reunions of war-separated families at Panmunjeom and vowed to reopen DMZ tours once the pandemic calms down.<br />Inter-Korean relations, however, have been on hold since the Pyeongyang-Washington Hanoi Summit in February 2019 which ended without an agreement.<br />Ties are frostier than ever after the North blew up the joint liaison office in June in retaliation to anti-Pyeongyang leaflets being sent over the DMZ by activist groups in the South.<br />Kim Dami, Arirang News.<br />
