ROK, DPRK agree to hold joint event to celebrate June 15 declaration

SEOUL -- Private organizations from the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) have agreed to hold a joint event in Seoul next month to mark the 15th anniversary of the historic June 15 Declaration, local broadcaster KBS reported Friday.

Representatives from the ROK's preparatory committee for the event, composed of private organizations, met in Shenyang, China for three days to Thursday with their DPRK counterparts and those representing Koreans living abroad.

After the meeting, they agreed to hold a joint commemorative event in Seoul from June 14 to 16 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the June Declaration, which was issued after then South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and late DPRK leader Kim Jong- il met in Pyongyang in 2000.

It would be the first such event in seven years since 2008 when the joint ceremony was last held in Mt. Kumgang in the DPRK's southeastern coast.