Present there were members of the south side delegation to the rally marking the 11th anniversary of the June 15 joint declaration which was to be held in Kaesong, and personages of civic and public organizations including the South Headquarters of the Pan-national Alliance for Korea's Reunification, the Solidarity for Progress and the Citizens' Solidarity for Democratic Society and opposition parties.

Speakers at the rally condemned the authorities for having finally blocked the nation's joint event for marking the 11th anniversary of the joint declaration which the north, south and overseas sides agreed to co-sponsor.

Their march toward the north could not but stop just before the pavilion, they said, deploring that the annual joint event after the adoption of the June 15 joint declaration was suspended under the present "government".

If the joint declaration had been properly implemented, Koreans from the south and the north and abroad would have gathered in Pyongyang, Seoul and other places to mark its anniversary and make great achievements in the development of inter-Korean relations, they said.

No matter how desperately the Lee Myung Bak "government" tries to stifle the spirit of the joint declaration, it will never block the advance of the nation toward peace and reunification, they said.

They urged the authorities to abandon the anachronistic confrontation policy and opt for implementing the joint declaration.