"The South and the North have agreed to overhaul their respective legislative and institutional apparatuses in a bid to develop inter-Korean relations in a reunification-oriented direction," reads a joint declaration signed by North Korean leader Kim Jong il and South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun after a historic summit in Pyongyang.
The South Korean law on national security has so far prevented potential bilateral contacts and mutual trust, and describes North Korea as "an anti-government organization." Under the same law, unsanctioned contacts and any praise of Pyongyang are considered a crime.
South Korea has also insisted that the North's Workers' Party should amend its program, which urges "a South Korean revolution" and labels the South "a colony of American imperialism."
To amend the Workers' Party program, North Korea should hold a party congress, but none has been convened since October 1980.
South Korea's newspaper Hankyoreh said the revision of legislation was also discussed at the first inter-Korean summit in June 2000, when the North Korean leader allegedly pledged to change the party program.
The efforts, however, could face difficulties in Seoul. An attempt by the ruling South Korean Uri party to consider amendments to the law on national security in 2004 was met with a powerful wave of opposition from anti-Pyongyang protestors.
Seeing off his South Korean counterpart, Kim Jong il invited Roh Moo-hyun to visit him anytime, the NHK TV channel said.
In their eight-point declaration the two leaders also pledged a commitment to peace talks and economic ties, the Yonhap news agency reported earlier Wednesday.
