정부, 9.19 평양공동선언 1주년 기념행사 개최... 北은 아무 보도·동향 없어

A commemorative ceremony was held to mark the one-year anniversary of President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's third summit.
However, Pyeongyang hasn't shown any particular response.
Oh Jung-hee tells us more.

In September 2018, South Korean President Moon Jae-in flew to Pyeongyang for his third summit with Kim Jong-un.
And that's where the two Koreas came up with the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration, which stipulated a wide range of inter-Korean projects from lowering military tentions... to fostering economic cooperation, resolving humanitarian issues and boosting cultural and sports exchanges.
Fast forward a year -- after the Hanoi summit between Pyeongyang and Washington ended without a deal,... inter-Korean relations are at a deadlock and the promises of the Pyeongyang Joint Declaration remain unfulfilled.

Still, South Korea held an event on Thursday at its Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the summit in Pyeongyang.
The country's Unification Minister stressed that tensions on the Korean Peninsula have eased considerably... and South Korea will keep working with both Pyeongyang and Washington.

"North Korea has recently announced that it's willing to resume negotiations with the U.S. in late September. South Korea will closely coordinate with the U.S. and always keep open its channel for dialogue with the North... so that North Korea-U.S. working-level negotiations can succeed."

The need to hold reunions of families separated by the Korean War was highlighted as well.

"We are doing everything we can to arrange video and face-to-face reunions... as well as enable South Korean families to exchange letters with their North Korean relatives and visit their hometowns in the North."

But, it seems it will take a while until South Korea kick-starts work with the North on these inter-Korean projects.

"On Thursday, North Korea did not release any reports or make any reference to the anniversary of the summit. Observers point out that the North has recently been sending fewer messages to South Korea,... which could imply that it first wants to focus on its negotiations with the U.S.
Oh Jung-hee, Arirang News."