Ri Jang Hui, permanent representative of the Headquarters of the People's Movement for South-North Economic Cooperation, referred to the urgency of improving the south-north relations, saying it is almost 70 years since the division.

Ri urged the "government" authorities to lift the "May 24 steps" and rejuvenate south-north economic cooperation before talking about the "human rights in the north", adding:

The authorities should implement the June 15 joint declaration and the October 4 declaration upon which the south and the north already agreed before talking about "confidence-building process". The south-north relations that have shown no improvement are mainly ascribable to the hostile "policy toward the north" pursued by the authorities.

The south-north relations cannot make any progress as long as the authorities are seized with the logic of "collapse of the north and unification of social systems". The "government" should cancel the hostile confrontational policy at an early date and clarify the stand of implementing the declarations.