Pyongyang, October 4 (KCNA) -- The North, South and Overseas Sides Committees for Implementation of June 15 Joint Declaration issued Tuesday the following appeal on the 4th anniversary of the Declaration for Development of North-South Relations and Peace and Prosperity:

All the Koreans inside and outside Korea have greeted the 4th anniversary of the Declaration for Development of North-South Relations and Peace and Prosperity which brought great hope for independent reunification.

The historic October 4 declaration which comprehensively clarifies practical ways for achieving peace, reunification and common prosperity of the country is another gain common to the nation which was made by the Koreans in their efforts to achieve national reunification by pooling their efforts.

But a stumbling block is lying in the way of implementing the declaration and mistrust and confrontation persist between the north and the south at present.

All the Koreans in the north and the south and abroad are looking back on the June 15 era in which they paved a wide avenue for reunification by their joint efforts and are full of determination and will to carry forward and develop it.

All-Korean Committee for Implementation of June 15 Joint Declaration (June 15 All-Korean Committee) declares as follows, reflecting the ardent desire and wishes of the nation for reconciliation, peace and reunification:

We should respect and put into practice the north-south joint declarations.

The adoption and implementation of the north-south joint declarations ushered in the new era of history in which the north and the south had worked for reunification while getting reconciled and cooperating with each other, putting an end to the inglorious past of distrust and confrontation.

The blood ties of the nation that had remained severed for more than half a century were rejoined and brisk visits, contacts and meetings were held in various fields between the north and the south, making the whole land of Korea from Mt. Paektu to Mt. Halla seethe with joy and enthusiasm for reunification.

No one can deny the stirring reality brought about by the north-south joint declarations and their significance in the history of the nation.

It is necessary to resume and promote all the activities for their implementation so as to develop them into a nationwide movement.

It is necessary to deal with all issues arising between the north and the south with the joint declarations as a yardstick and settle them in line with the requirements and interests of the nation.

The denial of the joint declarations and any move to hamstring their implementation should be thoroughly rebuffed.

An end should be put to hostility and confrontation between fellow countrymen.

The differing ideologies and systems in the north and the south can never become a source of discord and hostility.

It is the historical reality proven in the course of implementing the declarations that the north and the south can certainly get reconciled and reunified as one and the same nation despite differing ideologies and systems.

It is necessary to work for reunification on the basis of recognizing and tolerating each other's ideology and system in the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration.

All acts fostering discord and distrust between fellow countrymen and provoking the other side should be repudiated.

Positive efforts should be made to foil all the military exercises and arms buildup that may escalate the military tensions between the north and the south and build a durable and lasting peace mechanism on this land.

Various activities should be conducted to turn the West Sea of Korea fraught with the seed of armed clash between the north and the south into a sea of peace for the present.

All conditions should be provided for free discussion and activities for reunification between the people of all social standings from the north and the south including the June 15 All-Korean Committee.

Today its activities have been deterred and joint national events for reunification have not been held for the past four years even though they had been held every year since the publication of the joint declaration.

Hindrance of its activities is a denial of peace and reunification and an act of swimming against the tide of the times towards national harmony and reunification.

It is essential to resume and invigorate NGO contacts, exchanges and cooperation including the Committee and all other organizations of people of various strata.

All institutional barriers standing in the way of national reconciliation and unity should be pulled down and discussion and various activities for reunification be promoted between organizations comprising people of various social strata in the north and the south and abroad.

The unity of all Koreans in the north and the south and abroad should be encouraged in the spirit of the north-south joint declarations.

This is an important requirement for preserving peace of the country and advancing the June 15 era as well as the unanimous wish of all Koreans for peace and reunification.

It is prerequisite to put the nation's cause above all and keep pace with each other and join hands together irrespective of class, stratum, faction, affiliation, idea and ism.

We should reject division and strengthen alliance and unity and record new chronicle of hope through firm unity of all the forces desirous of peace and reunification.

The great national unity precisely means peace and national reunification.

Let us put an end to discord and confrontation through concord and unity of all Koreans at home and abroad and usher in a new era of peace, independence and reunification!

Let us implement the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration to build a peaceful and prosperous reunified country!