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Thanks to continuous efforts made by all parties concerned - China, North Korea, the United States, Russia, South Korea and Japan, the six-party nuclear talks made substantial progress in 2005.

The so-called "Feb. 10" statement made Pyongyang on suspending participation in the six-party nuclear talks aroused concern here that the talks, aimed at resolving the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula, might lose momentum and the inter-Korean exchanges might suffer a set-back.

Fortunately, the six parties concerned have never given up hope for bringing the talks back on track.

The meeting between South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and North Korean top leader Kim Jong Il on June 17 in Pyongyang shed a beam of light on the international efforts to solve the nuclear issue.

North Korean leader told the South Korean official that Pyongyang " is willing to return to the six-party nuclear talks," if the United States recognizes and respects the North.

After a series of shuttle diplomacy, the six-party nuclear talks finally reopened in late July in Beijing after one-year suspension, and the parties adopted a Joint Statement which outlines principles for the resolution of the nuclear issue after two-phase tough negotiations.

The Chung-Kim meeting also led to the resumption of a host of inter-Korean negotiations, which helped Seoul-Pyongyang relations make a big step forward.

Six-party nuclear talks make tangible progress

The Joint Statement adopted at the end of the fourth round of six-party nuclear talks on Sept. 19 in Beijing was viewed as the most substantial one produced by the multilateral talks which opened in August 2003.

South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun welcomed the statement, calling it an "epoch-making" one that has paved the way for further inter-Korean reconciliation.

The statement was seen as a breakthrough in the process of addressing the long-standing nuclear issue which became the focus of attention in the international community in late 2003.

The statement addressed various issues of concern of all parties concerned, outlining important principles for the resolution of the nuclear issue, economic and energy aid to North Korea, mistrust between North Korea and the United States, abnormal relations between North Korea and Japan.

The highlight of the statement is Pyongyang's commitment to " abandoning all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs" and to returning to the Non-Proliferation Treaty of Nuclear Weapons and to the International Atomic Energy Agency's safeguards at an early date.

Moreover, Washington reaffirmed in the statement that it has no nuclear weapons in the Korean Peninsula and has no intention of attacking or invading North Korea.

The Sept. 19 Joint Statement cast twilight on solving the nuclear issue through peaceful negotiations and created favorable conditions for the promotion of inter-Korean ties.

Inter-Korean cooperation leaps forward

The 15th Inter-Korean Ministerial Meeting quickly resumed in Seoul after one-year suspension only one week after the meeting between South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and North Korean top leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang.

The 12-point Joint Statement was released at the end of the inter-Korean ministerial talks on reviving various inter-Korean negotiations and enhancing exchanges.

Furthermore, the two sides agreed at the 10th Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee Meeting held in Seoul on July 9-12 to expand bilateral cooperation to new fields: fishery, capital, technology, raw material and natural resources.

Besides restoration of inter-Korean talks, three major inter- Korean economic cooperation projects also enjoyed further development in 2005.

Since the pilot zone of the Kaesong Industry Complex was launched late last year, 15 South Korean companies have entered the park. The industrial park is located in the North Korean ancient city of Kaesong, only 12 kilometers north of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries.

More than 7,000 workers from South Korea and North Korea are working together in the industry park currently. South Korean customers can buy "Made in Kaesong" kitchenware and clothes here now.

The US$6.26-billion-project will develop areas spanning 66.1 million square meters in Kaesong, which aims to combine South Korea's technology and capital with the North Korea's low-cost but skilled labor force.

The project of re-linking two inter-Korean railways of the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) Lines and Donghae Lines and their adjacent two roads, respectively run through the western and eastern part of the peninsula, has already finished.

Currently, about 300 vehicles from South Korea travel to North Korea side daily by using the two roads, transporting personnel and commodities.

In June this year, the number of South Korean tourists to the North Korea's Geumgang mountain surpassed 1 million, seven years after the tour project was launched.

The two sides are also considering launching Kaesong and Mount Baekdu (Chang Bai mountain) tour projects to attract South Korean visitors in the near future.

In mid-August, North Korean government and civilian delegations stirred a whirlwind in South Korea where they attended a series of joint celebration events commemorating the 60th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule.

Over 180 North Korea delegates celebrated the Independence Peace and Reunification Festival together with 50,000 South Korean people.

For the first time, the North Korea ranking officials, including Kim Ki Nam, secretary of the Central Committee of the North Korea's Workers' Party, paid a visit to South Korean National Cemetery in Seoul where tens of thousands of South Koreans dead in the Korean War ( 1950-1953) are honored. They also paid a first ever visit to South Korean legislature - National Assembly.

The activities are believed to have opened a new page in the history of inter-Korean exchanges which have mainly focused on the economic front.

In late October, the first ever South Korea-North Korea joint office started operation in Kaesong, where officials from the two sides worked together to provide assistance for inter-Korean trade and economic cooperation.

South Korean Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo hailed the opening of the joint office, saying the inter-Korean economic cooperation is going deeply with the promotion of quality of the cooperation.

On Nov. 1, the two sides reached an agreement in Macao to send joint teams to the 2006 Asian Games in Doha, Qatar and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

South Korea and the North Korea are racing against time to boost the inter-Korean cooperation to a new stage.

S.Korea prepares "peace regime" on Korean Peninsula

In the "Sept. 19" Joint Statement, the six parties agreed on launching separate forum involving "directly related parties" to negotiate a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.

In the White Paper on Korean Unification 2005, Seoul expressed its intention to sign a peace treaty with Pyongyang to replace the Armistice Treaty signed after the end of the Korean War (1950-1953) , in which South Korea's name was excluded.

Since South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun took office in 2003, South Korea has pursued "Peace and Prosperity Policy" toward the North Korea, which focuses on a peaceful resolution of the security issues on the peninsula and seeks to build a permanent peace regime and inter-Korean economic community to realize peace and prosperity in the Northeast Asia.

In 2005, the Korean Peninsula saw a ray of light at the end of the tunnel in the progress of addressing the nuclear issue and pushing forward Seoul-Pyongyang ties.

The inter-Korean ties are expected to greet a new era after the historical summit meeting between South Korea's then President Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong Il in 2000 which largely boosted the relations between the two sides.

(Xinhua News Agency December 28, 2005)