PYONGYANG -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Monday urged the Republic of Korea (ROK) to fulfill the joint declarations made by heads of the two countries and embrace a turning point in the north-south relations.

To mark the 15th anniversary of the signing of the historic June 15 Joint Declaration which was adopted at the north-south summit held in Pyongyang in 2000, the DPRK issued a government statement, calling for an end to confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and improvement of the deteriorating inter-Korean relations.

The statement, which was carried by the official KCNA news agency, said that issues including amelioration of the inter-Korean ties and Korea's reunification should be addressed independent of interference from the outside and be settled by the own efforts of the Korean nation.

Pyongyang urged Seoul to halt its joint military drills with the United States, including "Key Resolve" and "Foal Eagle", saying the "north-south relations cannot improve, nor a nuclear war can be defused on the Korean Peninsula, as long as such military threats and provocations continue to exist."

The statement asked Seoul not to seek a "unification of system, " saying that forcible unification of the two sides under one system will only lead to war as the north and south have existed with different ideologies for the past seven decades.

Instead, atmosphere conducive to improving the north-south relationship needs to be formed, it said, adding that Seoul should no longer make provocative moves that irritate Pyongyang, but create a favorable climate and remove legal and regulatory mechanisms that impede contacts and communication between the two sides.

To implement the north-south declarations, practical actions should be taken, the statement said. "If the atmosphere of trust and reconciliation between the north and south is created, then there is no reason that dialogue and negotiations are not launched."

In June 2000, then ROK's President Kim Dae-jung and his DPRK counterpart, Kim Jong Il, met in Pyongyang and signed the June 15th Joint Declaration which contains a consensus on Korea's reunification.