Respected Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year Address that the Korean people should open up a broad avenue to independent reunification through a concerted effort of the whole nation.

The July 4 Joint Statement and the October 4 Declaration adopted between the north and the south of Korea are the charters, great programmes for reunification common to the nation.

The joint statement and the declaration indicate the ways for putting an end to military confrontation between the north and the south and bringing about detente and peace on the Korean peninsula, on the basis of reaffirming the spirit of By Our Nation Itself clarified in the Three Principles of National Reunification and the June 15 Joint Declaration.

Their validity and vitality have been fully displayed to make the whole nation seethe with the enthusiasm for independent reunification, as they reflect the will of the whole nation to achieve the cause of national reunification by the concentrated efforts of the nation, free from interference of the outsiders.

The Workers' Party of Korea and the DPRK government remain consistent in their stand to safeguard the security of the compatriots and peace of the country without confrontation between fellow countrymen.

Positive measures should be taken to improve inter-Korean relations, avoid acute military confrontation between the north and the south and remove the danger of war, thus encouraging the atmosphere of reconciliation and peace on the Korean peninsula.

All the Koreans in the north, the south and abroad should put the issue of national reunification, the common cause of the nation, ahead of others and thus make this year a significant year to open a new phase in the struggle for independent reunification by their concerted efforts.