Moon Jae-in asks the North to sign a peace agreement

The South Korean president’s overture came during the commemoration for 70 years since the outbreak of the inter-Korean conflict. Seoul and Pyongyang are still technically at war. Moon: peace is the precondition for reunification. The South does not want to impose its system, but its GDP is 50 times that of North Korea.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - South Korean President Moon Jae-in yesterday asked North Korea to sign a peace agreement to mark the formal end of conflict between the two nations.

Moon’s request came during the ceremony marking 70 years since of the outbreak of the inter-Korean war, from June 25, 1950 to July 27, 1953. Hostilities between Seoul and Pyongyang ceased with the signing of an armistice, but the two sides never agreed to a peace treaty, thus technically remaining at war.

Moon maintains that the South and North cannot work towards reunification without first achieving peace. The South Korean leader stressed that Seoul has no desire to impose its political and economic system on North Koreans. However, he noted that South Korea's GDP is 50 times that of the North.

Moon's peace offer comes after weeks of tension between the two governments. On June 24, North Korea suspended military operations against Seoul and removed 10 speakers used for propaganda from the border.

Last week, Pyongyang had threatened to send its troops to the demilitarized zone between the two countries, in an act of retaliation for the launch of defamatory leaflets into their territory by dissidents sheltered in the South.

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