North Korea says call to formally end Korean War is ‘premature’

"North Korea says call to formally end Korean War is ‘premature’"

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in addresses the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 21. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) . By Michelle Ye Hee Lee. washingtonpost.

TOKYO — North Korea said Friday it was “premature” to declare a formal end to the Korean War, after a reference to renewed efforts by South Korean President Moon Jae-in to put the discussion back on the table amid stalled nuclear negotiations with Pyongyang.

Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, said in a statement Friday that the declaration was “an interesting and an admirable idea,” but that it was not the right time.

Through two statements released via state media Friday, top North Korean officials said that declaring a formal end to the war would not guarantee an end to “hostile policies” toward North Korea.

Sustained fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice agreement in 1953, but the two Koreas remain technically at war.

In his speech at the United Nations General Assembly meeting this week in New York, Moon again called for an end-of-war declaration, which he views as a way to move forward in denuclearization talks. Moon proposed that the two Koreas, along with the United States and China, come together for the declaration.