Asia-Pacific

DPRK urges US to respond to peace agreement proposal

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-07-20 10:06

PYONGYANG - Rodong Sinmun, a leading newspaper of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), urged the United States to sincerely respond to the peace agreement proposed by the DPRK in a commentary published on Monday.

"The Armistice Agreement which had already been reduced to a dead paper provides the US with conditions for starting a war on the peninsula any time," said the commentary.

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It also proposed that the agreement be replaced by a peace treaty as early as possible "to establish a solid peace-keeping regime on the peninsula."

"In order to bring the process for the denuclearization on the peninsula back on a normal track, it is necessary to pay primary attention to building confidence between the DPRK and the US," added the commentary.

"To this end it is necessary to conclude, to begin with, a peace treaty for putting an end to the state of armistice, the root cause of the hostile relations between the two countries," it said.

The conclusion of a peace treaty is a political issue of making something beneficial to the countries concerned including the DPRK and the United States and the international community, and contributing to ensuring peace and security in Asia and the rest of the world, it said.

If the United States truly stands for settling the issue of the Korean Peninsula, there will be no problem in concluding a peace treaty and the process for the denuclearization will make rapid progress, it said.

In January, Pyongyang proposed discussing a peace treaty with the relevant countries within the frame of the six-party talks to replace the Armistice Agreement that ended the 1950-1953 Korean War.