Present there were Honorary Co-Chairpersons of the committee Yang Hyong Sop, vice-president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People's Assembly, Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, Vice-Premier Ro Tu Chol, Kim Yong Dae, chairman of the C.C., the Korean Social Democratic Party, and Ryu Mi Yong, chairwoman of the C.C., the Chondoist Chongu Party, and An Kyong Ho, chairman of the committee, vice-chairpersons of the committee and its members, members of its various sub-committees and officials concerned.

The meeting discussed its agenda item "On the tasks for bringing about a new phase of independent reunification this year, the 10th anniversary of the publication of the June 15 North-South Joint Declaration."

An Kyong Ho delivered a report at the meeting to be followed by speeches.

The reporter said that all the Koreans boundlessly revere and follow General Secretary Kim Jong Il and dynamically advance towards the morrow of a reunified nation full of conviction and optimism.

He called on all the Koreans to conduct nationwide struggle to open a new phase of independent reunification this year, holding aloft the slogan "Let the entire nation unite under the banner of north-south joint declarations and achieve national reunification at the earliest date!"

An appeal to all the Koreans was adopted at the meeting.

The appeal pointed out that the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration are programmes for reunification common to the Korean nation and the most ennobling banner of patriotism.

The road of "By our nation itself," the path of national independence, is the only genuine way all the fellow countrymen have followed and will do so in the future, too, the appeal noted, calling on all the Koreans in the north and the south and abroad to remain true to the idea of independence, the idea of "By our nation itself", decisively reject the south Korean authorities' sycophantic and treacherous theory of giving priority to foreign forces and firmly protect the dignity and interests of the nation.

It underscored the need for the people from all walks of life to join hands, irrespective of ideology, political view and religious belief, work hard to achieve national reconciliation and foil the obstructive moves of the anti-reunification forces and positively reenergize visits and contacts between people of various strata in the north and the south and their multi-faceted cooperation.

We have the pleasure to courteously propose holding grand events common to the nation to be participated in by all political parties and organizations and personages of various strata in the north and the south and abroad desirous of national unity and reunification on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the publication of the historic June 15 joint declaration, the appeal stressed.