SEOUL, July 7 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to positively respond to President Moon Jae-in's peace initiative on the Korean Peninsula, which was proposed in Berlin, Germany.
Lee Yoo-jin, deputy spokesperson of the Unification Ministry, told a regular press briefing Friday that inter-Korean cooperation would be mandatory to draw up a breakthrough for peace on the peninsula, expressing an anticipation of the DPRK's positive response to South Korea's proposal for the peninsula's peace.
The proposal referred to the so-called "Korean Peninsula Peace Initiative" suggested Thursday by President Moon who was visiting Germany to attend a summit of Group of 20 (G20) leading economies.
Moon, who took office on May 10, explained his government's policy direction to establish a permanent peace on the peninsula, saying he will make the peninsula free from threats of nuclear weapons and war by acknowledging and respecting each other between the two Koreas.
The new South Korean leader proposed to implement the agreements reached by his two predecessors, Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moon-hyun, when they met with late DPRK leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang in 2000 and 2007.
Moon vowed to pursue the denuclearized Korean Peninsula that guarantees the DPRK regime, urging Pyongyang to stop all nuclear provocations and hold bilateral and multilateral dialogues for the denuclearization.
He offered to establish a permanent peace regime on the peninsula to end the armistice, which stemmed from the 1950-1953 Korean War. The peninsula is technically in a state of war as the fratricidal war ended in truce, not peace treaty.
Moon suggested to deepen inter-Korean economic cooperation by linking railways and shipping routes of the two Koreas, while strengthening non-political inter-Korean exchanges separately from political and military situations.
The unification ministry deputy spokesperson said the government would make efforts to materialize and implement Moon's DPRK policy, based on a public consensus and communications with the political arena.
The South Korean government, the deputy spokesperson said, will make efforts to gain support and understanding of the international community and relevant countries such as the United States.
