Present there were representatives of organizations of Koreans in America including the Western Committee of the U.S. Regional Committee for Implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration, the U.S. Headquarters of the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification and the Western Regional Association of Koreans in America.

An address was made by Yang Un Sik, permanent chairman of the committee, at the event to be followed by other speeches.

Speakers said that since the publication of the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration the work for reconciliation and cooperation has been brisk between the south and the north and the movement for national reunification has made dynamic progress.

But the Lee Myung Bak regime in south Korea is working hard to turn back the clock of history by bringing back the era of the Cold War and confrontation, making a mess of all the above-said achievements.

They accused the Lee group of staging madcap joint military exercises for aggression against fellow countrymen, while crying out for "cooperation" with outside forces, and brutally suppressing the progressive organizations for the reunification movement on charges of violation of the "National Security Law".

The history will advance despite any obstructive moves and independence and reunification are sure to come true, they noted, calling on all the Koreans in America to pool efforts and turn out in the struggle for reunification.

They urged Lee Myung Bak to place the interests of the nation above anything else, though belatedly, and opt to implement the above-said declarations as early as possible.