Seoul/Pyongyang, Oct 4, SPA -- The leaders of South and North Koreaagreed Thursday to denuclearize the Korean peninsula, end militaryhostility and establish a permanent peace treaty to replace thearmistice which ended the 1950-53 Korean War during the secondinter-Korean summit, DPA quoted Yonhap news agency as reporting. South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun and North Korean leader KimJong Il Thursday signed an eight-point joint declaration at theconclusion of an historic three-day summit in Pyongyang. The two Koreas are still technically at war more than 50 yearsafter the conflict ended with an armistice and not a peacetreaty. The declaration calls for a four-party summit that wouldinvolve the United States and China, which fought alongside South andNorth Korea in the war respectively, and are signatories to thearmistice. A previous attempt to reach a peace in 1999 between the fournations ended without any result. The joint declaration also includes an agreement to holdinter-Korean prime ministerial talks in Seoul in November to discussdetails of the agreements, including to co-operate to create anuclear weapon-free Korean peninsula. "The South and the North closely co-operate in order toterminate military hostilities, ease tension and ensure peace on theKorean peninsula," said the declaration signed by the two Koreanleaders. South and North Korea also agreed on joint efforts to supportsix-party talks on the North's denuclearization, the first time thereclusive Kim has personally committed to ending the North's nuclearweapons programme. On Wednesday, North Korea agreed to disable key nuclearfacilities by the end of this year, according to a joint statementissued by China on behalf of six nations participating in the talks. The statement followed talks last week between North Korea, theUnited States, China, South Korea, Russia and Japan aimed atnegotiating an end to North Korea's nuclear programme. A special peace zone in the disputed Yellow Sea, which has seenrepeated clashes between warships from the North and South, was alsopart of the declaration. North Korea does not recognize the maritimeborder line, drawn unilaterally by the United Nations at the end ofthe Korea War, and demands that it be redrawn further south. On Thursday, the two countries also agreed to open a cross-bordercargo railway. In a test in May, trains crossed the heavily fortifiedborder between North and South Korea for the first time in 56 years. The rail link, considered one of the most important projects ofinter-Korean rapprochement in recent years, has since lain dormant. The South Korean Olympic cheering squad will also be allowed touse the railway through North Korea to reach Beijing next year forthe 2008 Olympic Games. The first inter-Korean summit was held in June 2000 between formerSouth Korean president Kim Dae Jung and the North Korean leader.--SPA www.spa.gov.sa/488034