South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon and North Korean delegation head Ri Son Gwon attend high-level talks at a border village. Getty Images

On Monday the high-level dialogue released a joint statement covering economy, military, culture, health, and sports. One month after the 3^rd summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, the two Koreas have mapped out additional steps to promote multifaceted cooperation.

Building trust

After the 1^st Inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom truce village in April, Moon and Kim told 80 million Korean people and the world that there will be no war on the Korean peninsula. An era of peace has begun. They pledged to soon end confrontation and division, a legacy of the Cold War, to enter a new era of national conciliation, peace, and prosperity. On May 26, Mr. Moon visited North Korea to break impasses in US-North Korea nuclear talks.

In September, the 3^rd Inter-Korean summit was held in Pyongyang. Many agreements and commitments were written in the Pyongyang Declaration to establish a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula. Both sides agreed to discuss a detailed plan to establish a Joint Military Committee and conduct a survey for railway and road connection. They set dates and sites for online meetings of the Red Cross Society and for exchanging information about divided families.

The US and North Korea agreed to hold a second summit between President Donald Trump and Leader Kim Jong-Un as soon as possible.

Cooperative opportunities

These positive moves on the Korean peninsula promise further economic cooperation. North Korea has huge deposits of valuable ores such as gold, iron, bronze, zinc, and coal and a great need for infrastructure development, energy, and a better communications network.

North Korea has conveyed the message that it is determined to integrate globally and develop its economy. It has opened a website called “Foreign Trade of DPRK” to promote trade and attract foreign investment. The website provides detailed information on trade, commercial laws, businesses, and economic and commercial zones.

An agreement to conduct surveys on the Gyeongui railway and a railway along the eastern coast creates new opportunities for the two Koreas and the region. A delegation of South Korean businesspeople accompanied President Moon Jae-in to Pyongyang in September to sketch out new business plans and draw a new economic map for the Korean peninsula. Leaders of the two Koreas are showing that trust and cooperation for mutual benefit is the way to create long-lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.