Contact puts inter-Korean ties back on track: DPRK leader

A latest agreement provided "a crucial landmark occasion of defusing military tension and putting inter-Korean relations on the track of reconciliation and trust," said Kim Jong Un, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s top leader.

The DPRK and South Korea reached an agreement Tuesday to defuse rising tensions on the peninsula following a 43-hour dialogue.

The DPRK "proposed the north-south high-level urgent contact on its own initiative and put under control the situation which inched close to an armed conflict," the state-run KCNA news agency quoted him as saying on Friday.

The remarks were made at a recent enlarged meeting of the Central Military Commission of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK).

Peace restored under the situation was "by no means something achieved on the negotiating table but thanks to the tremendous military muscle with the nuclear deterrent for self-defense," Kim said, adding that the armed forces of Songun (military-first) and single-minded unity serve as "an essential guarantee for defending peace on the peninsula."

In the meeting, Kim reiterated the need to bolster military capability as a top priority for national defense.

The KCNA also reported that some members of the Central Military Commission of the WPK were removed from their posts at the meeting and that new members were appointed, but it did not disclose the names of the dismissed members. Endi