Since the end of the Korean War (June 25, 1950-July 27, 1953) ignited by the U.S., the peninsula has been in an unstable situation which is neither war nor peace.

To achieve durable peace on the peninsula was a pressing demand with the peninsula divided into the north and the south by outside forces.

For decades the DPRK Government has advanced a wave of aboveboard and realistic proposals in order to prevent a war and ensure durable peace on the peninsula.

In the meeting held in Geneva in 1954, it made detailed proposals envisaging withdrawal of all foreign forces from the Korean Peninsula and peaceful reunification as stipulated in the Armistice Agreement (AA).

In 1958, it drastically reduced its forces on its own initiative and took a measure to get the Chinese People's Volunteers out of the DPRK territory.

At the 3rd Session of the 5th Supreme People's Assembly held in March 1974, it proposed talks between the DPRK and the U.S to discuss concluding a peace treaty between them.

In January 1984, it called for opening tripartite talks with the DPRK, U.S. and south Korea in attendance, which would deal with the issues of concluding a peace treaty between the DPRK and the U.S. and adopting a non-aggression declaration between the north and the south.

In April 1994, it set forth a proposal for establishing a new peace-keeping mechanism on the Korean Peninsula, followed by a proposal for signing a tentative agreement which could replace the AA, in order to ensure peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Thanks to the DPRK's positive efforts, rounds of general-level military talks were held between the DPRK and the U.S. in Panmunjom, which dealt with setup of a new kind of armistice mechanism.

The issue of establishing peace mechanism on the Korean Peninsula was discussed also at the four-way talks held in the latter half of the 1990s, with the DPRK, the U.S., China and south Korea in attendance.

The DPRK and the U.S. held talks in Washington in October 2000, at which they came to an agreement that there were various options for making the AA replaced with peace-keeping mechanism, including the opening of the four-way talks.

Afterwards, the DPRK set forth proposals for opening a meeting of AA signatories to discuss declaring the termination of war and for opening the talks for discussing replacement of AA with peace agreement with the 60th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War as an occasion.

In spite of the DPRK's persistent efforts, durable peace has not been ensured on the peninsula.

If the U.S. had affirmatively responded even to one of its proposals, durable peace would have already come to the peninsula.

Steadfast is the DPRK's stand to promote peace and security on the Korean Peninsula and in the rest of Northeast Asia and the world as a whole.