DPRK calls on S. Korea to make joint efforts to defuse military tension

PYONGYANG, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Thursday called on South Korea to work with it to defuse military tension and remove the danger of war from the Korean Peninsula to achieve national unity and reunification.

The official daily Rodong Sinmun said in an article that it would not be possible to remove the distrust and conflict between the north and south, nor would it be possible to embark on the path to reunification as long as the military tension mounts.

"It is the consistent stand and will of the DPRK to fail the outsiders' aggression moves and safeguard the well-being of the fellow countrymen and defend the peace of the country," said the daily.

The DPRK and South Korea on Tuesday held the first high-level talks in around two years in the truce village of Panmunjom, achieving a number of agreements ranging from cooperation in the PyeongChang Olympics to taking measures to ease tensions on the peninsula.

The inter-Korean peace efforts have won support from the majority of the international community members, and the United Nations Security Council also expressed pleasure over a possible detente on the Korean Peninsula.

The daily said Pyongyang will "strive hard to defend the peace on the Korean Peninsula and security of the nation," while accusing the United States of "not hoping for the Korean nation getting reconciled and reunified."

"The arms buildup and the large-scale joint military exercises with foreign forces aimed at threatening and invading the other partners are key factors straining the military tension between the north and the south, and driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to unpredictable phase of danger," said the official daily Workers' Party of Korea.

It expressed confidence that the north and south can "certainly avert a war and defuse the tension on the Korean Peninsula if they make up their mind to." Enditem