DPRK proposes halting inter-Korean military hostilities

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has proposed that the two neighbors on the Korean Peninsula stop all military hostilities against each other starting Friday.

The National Defense Commission of the DPRK made the call in a major statement where it listed independence, peaceful reunification and great national unity as the three main principles for improving relations with the Republic of Korea (ROK), the official KCNA news agency reported Monday.

The statement came on the eve of the 42th anniversary of the issuance of the July 4 North-South Joint Statement, a historic document wherein the two sides agreed on a set of principles for achieving reunification.

In the latest statement, the DPRK expressed the hope that all statements and agreements signed by the two sides be maintained and fulfilled, but those that betray the principle of independence and harm the common interests of the two countries be abandoned.

In order to create a better atmosphere for the upcoming Asian Games in Incheon, ROK, the DPRK suggested, this year's Ulchi Freedom Guardian military exercise, a US-ROK joint drill slated for August, be scrapped.

It also called on the United States not to deploy nuclear strike forces in ROK and its surrounding areas.