Senior Colonel of the KPA Ri Son Gwon, head of the delegation of the DPRK side, said that serious problems which can never be overlooked have cropped up recently in implementing the military agreements that were adopted between the two sides according to the historic June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, a programme for carrying it out.

The south side perpetrated provocations against the DPRK recently by instigating conservative diehard reactionary organizations to massively scatter leaflets in the western sector of the front including Rimjin Pavilion in Phaju City of Kyonggi Province and Kanghwa Islet and the central sector of the front including Cholwon area of south Korean Kangwon Province, etc.

These provocations are lashing the army and people of the DPRK into fury and the artillery units of the DPRK in the front areas, in particular, are getting fully ready to strike the spotted centers for scattering leaflets.

Then he accused the military authorities of the south side of infiltrating a great many warships belonging to the second fleet of the puppet navy and even those belonging to the Maritime Police into the territorial waters of the DPRK side. He also denounced them for letting them stand in confrontation with the DPRK's guard craft on routine duty, unhesitatingly perpetrating such grave provocations as threatening the safety of their seamen.

He strongly urged the south side to apologize for the provocations committed by it against the DPRK on the ground and in the sea at a time when the inter-Korean relations are at serious crossroads and severely punish their chief culprits and take responsible measures to prevent the recurrence of the above-said provocations.

At the talks the south side talked about "responsible measures" as regards the "Cheonan" case and made such wrong assertions about "discontinuation of criticism of authorities" and "halt to escalating the tension in the West Sea" as a response to the DPRK's just accusations.

Dismissing these assertions, the DPRK side declared that it is foolish to talk still about the cheap farce orchestrated by the south side itself which had been censured by the public at home and abroad and it was nothing but a disgusting plot of the top class criminals to evade the stern judgment of the times and history at any cost.

In this context the head of the delegation of the DPRK side clarified its following principled stand:

The authorities of the south side have not yet complied with the DPRK's proposal for sending an inspection group of the National Defence Commission of the DPRK to the scene of the incident because they feel fearful of the grave crimes committed by them and afraid of the disclosure of them.

The same can be said of "discontinuation of criticism of authorities" and "halt to escalating the tension in the West Sea" raised by the south side.

Had they respected and implemented the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration, a programme for implementing it, the issue of "criticizing authorities" would not have cropped up and had the south side not turned down the DPRK's just proposal for establishing a special zone for peace and cooperation in the West Sea as specified in the October 4 declaration, in particular, armed conflicts and the escalation of tension in the said waters would not have occurred.

In closing the DPRK side pointed to the principled matters arising in defusing tension on the Korean Peninsula and achieving peace and prosperity common to the nation.

If the south side fails to immediately stop the provocations being perpetrated by it against the DPRK on the ground and in the sea, it will not be able to evade the responsibility for the ensuing disastrous consequences, it warned.