Pyongyang considers Seoul's proposal to declare an end to the decades-long war on the Korean Peninsula to be "an interesting and admirable" idea but it should be done at a right time and subject to the conditions ripe for such a discussion, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, said on Friday
SEOUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 24th September, 2021) Pyongyang considers Seoul's proposal to declare an end to the decades-long war on the Korean Peninsula to be "an interesting and admirable" idea but it should be done at a right time and subject to the conditions ripe for such a discussion, Kim Yo Jong, the North Korean leader's sister, said on Friday.
The statement came in response to South Korean President Moon Jae-in proposing an end-of-war declaration between the neighbors during his speech at the 76th UN General Assembly session on Tuesday.
"The declaration of the termination of the war is an interesting and admirable idea in that it itself is meant to put a physical end to the unstable state of ceasefire ... on the Korean Peninsula," Kim Yo Jong was quoted by the state-run Korean Central News Agency as saying.
Kim Yo Jong, who is also the deputy department director of the Workers' Party of Korea Central Committee, added that there was "nothing wrong" in declaring the end of the war, recalling that Pyongyang has repeatedly discussed the issue in the past, as the country acknowledged its "necessity and significance."
"But it is necessary to look into whether it is right time now and whether there are conditions ripe for discussing this issue," she added.
To declare the end of the war, the sides should respect each other and drop "prejudiced viewpoint, inveterate hostile policy and unequal double standards," the official said.
"We have willingness to keep our close contacts with the south again and have constructive discussion with it about the restoration and development of the bilateral relations if it is careful about its future language and not hostile toward us after breaking with the past when it often provoked us and made far-fetched assertions to find fault with anything done by us out of double-dealing standards," Kim concluded.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have recently spiraled up again in light of North Korea carrying on with its efforts on the ballistic missile program. On September 15, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported, citing the country's Joint Chiefs of Staff, that its northern neighbor launched two cruise missiles in the direction of the Sea of Japan.
On the same day, Seoul successfully tested its new homegrown submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Moon, who was present during the test, said that the SLBM would serve as a deterrence against North Korean provocations.
