South-North Joint Declaration

• Country/entity

  North Korea
  South Korea
  
• Region

  Asia and Pacific
  Asia and Pacific
  
• Agreement name

  South-North Joint Declaration
• Date

  15 Jun 2000
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Interstate/interstate conflict ( Korean Conflict (1950 - ) )
• Stage

  Pre-negotiation/process
• Conflict nature

  Territory
• Peace process

  North Korea - South Korea interstate process
• Parties

  Kim Dae-jung, President, The Republic of Korea;
  Kim Jong-il, Chairman, National Defense Commission, The Democratic People s Republic of Korea;
• Third parties

  -
• Description

  Rhetorical commitments to resolve the question of reunification independently and through the joint efforts of the Korean people; parties agreeing to promote reunification with some sort of federalism; agreement to resolve set of humanitarian issues; stimulating cooperation and exchanges in civic, cultural, sports, health, environmental and other fields; agree to hold dialogue on these issues soon; Chairman Kim Jong-il to visit Seoul soon.

• Agreement document

  KP KR_000615_South-North Joint Declaration.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

South-North Joint Declaration

15 June 2000

In accordance with the noble will of the entire people who yearn for the peaceful reunification of the nation, President Kim Dae-jung of the Republic of Korea and National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea held a historic meeting and summit talks in Pyongyang from June 13 to June 15, 2000.

The leaders of the South and the North, recognizing that the meeting and the summit talks, the first since the division of the country, were of great significance in promoting mutual understanding, developing South-North relations and realizing peaceful reunification, declared as follows:

1. The South and the North have agreed to resolve the question of reunification on their own Initiative and through the joint efforts of the Korean people, who are the masters of the country.

2. Acknowledging that there are common elements in the South s proposal for a confederation and the North s proposal for a federation of lower stage as the formulae for achieving reunification, the South and the North agreed to promote reunification in that direction.

3. The South and the North have agreed to promptly resolve humanitarian issues such as exchange visits by separated family members and relatives on the occasion of the August 15 National Liberation Day and the question of former long-term prisoners who had refused to renounce Communism.

4. The South and the North have agreed to consolidate mutual trust by promoting balanced development of the national economy through economic cooperation and by stimulating cooperation and exchanges in civic, cultural, sports, public health, environmental and all other fields.

5. The South and the North have agreed to hold a dialogue between relevant authorities in the near future to implement the above agreement expeditiously.

President Kim Dae-jung cordially invited National Defense Commission Chairman Kim

Jong-il to visit Seoul, and Chairman Kim Jong-il decided to visit Seoul at an appropriate

time.

Kim Dae-jung, President, The Republic of Korea

Kim Jong-il, Chairman, National Defense Commission, The Democratic People s Republic of Korea