General Secretary Kim Jong Il arranged a north-south summit in Pyongyang in 2000, which led to the adoption of the declaration, guidelines for achieving Korea's reunification.

The joint declaration is of weighty importance in the efforts for national reunification. It expounds a series of principled matters ranging from the basic idea for national reunification to practical ways for improvement of north-south relations.

The idea of "By Our Nation Itself", the keynote of the declaration, is instrumental to shaping out the Korean nation's destiny and reunifying the country in the new century. It calls for strictly adhering to the principle of independence in the efforts to shape out the nation's destiny, settling the issue of reunification in a peaceful way, not in a way of war, and promoting the great unity of the nation.

Under this idea advanced by Kim Jong Il, the reunification movement in Korea has dynamically advanced along the orbit of independence. And validity, vitality, scientific accuracy and truth of the idea have been fully displayed in practice.

The feats Kim Jong Il performed for independent national reunification will remain forever in the nation's history.