By Our Nation Itself

It was the ennobling intention of Chairman Kim Jong Il to put an end to the tragedy of national division caused by foreign forces and achieve national reunification by the concerted efforts of the north and south of Korea. His steadfast stand and will were clarified in the North-South Joint Declaration adopted in the inter-Korean summit meeting held in June Juche 89 (2000).

The declaration specified such issues as to solve the question of the country’s reunification independently by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation responsible for it, build mutual confidence by activating cooperation and exchange between the north and the south, etc.

After the adoption of the June 15 joint declaration, the Chairman opened up a broad avenue for national reunification by the concerted efforts of the nation, under the unfurled banner of By Our Nation Itself.

On June 30, 2000, he met a US-based Korean newspaperwoman and stressed that the article that the question of the country’s reunification shall be solved independently by the concerted efforts of the Korean nation is the most important in the North-South Joint Declaration

And when he met a delegation of the south Korean mass media, a delegation of the south Korean authorities and some businessmen of south Korea, he inspired them with warm fraternal love and enthusiasm for reunification. It was an expression of his noble patriotic desire to firmly unite all the fellow countrymen in the north, south and abroad under the banner of national independence and unity, irrespective of differences in ideologies, political views and isms and doctrines.

After the publication of the June 15 joint declaration, travels, contacts, exchanges and cooperation between the north and south were promoted vigorously.

The severed inter-Korean railways and roads were re-linked, and such events took place in the north and the south as a joint performance and a joint concert of artistes of the north and the south, joint workshops of historians of both sides in Pyongyang, Seoul and Mt Kumgang, and joint exhibitions of data and photos. In December 2006, sportspersons of both sides jointly entered the venue of the opening ceremony of the 15th Asian Games held in Doha, Qatar, with the Korean peninsula flag in front of them.

Over 140 rounds of inter-Korean talks and contacts were held until July of 2007 after the publication of the June 15 joint declaration.

The ideal of By Our Nation Itself grasped the hearts of all the Korean compatriots in the north, south and abroad, encouraged them to vigorously turn out in the national reunification movement.

2022-02-15