Seen at Unification Observatory in Paju.

From 13 through 15 June 2000, President Kim Dae-jung visited Pyongyang, holding the first-ever inter-Korean summit. These are the first and the last pages of the joint declaration issued at the end of the 3-day summit, signed by Kim Dae-jung and Kim Jong-il. (In typeface and style, this is the South Korean version.) The two Koreas symbolically agreed to take a number of steps to improve inter-Korean relations and work toward peaceful co-existence.

Kim Dae-jung had to fly in a South Korean military transport plane to get to Pyongyang, but as a result of these talks, road and rail links between the two Koreas were restored, and by the time the second inter-Korean summit happened, Kim's successor Roh Moo-hyun could simply drive to Pyongyang.

Also notable is the understanding that Kim Jong-il would visit Seoul "at an appropriate time in the future," but between Kim's paranoia and failing health, the promise was never kept. Also, for the northern propaganda machine, it's far more convenient if the southern President comes in to Pyongyang to pay respects to the Dear Leader, rather than the Dear Leader having to stoop to the southern President in "American imperialist" territory.

Kim Dae-jung eventually won the Nobel Peace Prize for this achievement, though the large amounts of aid payments made to the North proved more than controversial.