It goes on:

Improving the inter-Korean ties is a vital issue related to the destiny of the nation and the supreme task, a matter of utmost urgency.

If the north and the south of Korea remain partitioned and stand against each other, it is absolutely impossible to pave the way for peace and reunification. To allow the north-south ties of confrontation and distrust to persist is just tantamount to committing an indelible crime against history and the generations to come.

The north-south ties on which the destiny of the nation depends should be replaced by the ties of trust and reconciliation and only then is it possible to achieve lasting peace on the Korean peninsula and the independent reunification of the country by the concerted efforts of all Koreans.

Whoever is concerned about the destiny of the nation should not be indifferent to the improvement of the ties but should boldly take the patriotic road of national reconciliation and unity, transcending differences in ideology, ism and social system.

It is the steadfast will of all the fellow countrymen in the north and the south and abroad to meet the blatant challenges of the anti-reunification forces at home and abroad and open a new phase in the improvement of the north-south ties and the realization of the independent reunification.