First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said it's important to build a framework for the Korean Peninsula peace process that no party can easily break away from and the declaration of a formal end to the Korean War is a good way to do so. 

The vice minister made the remarks on Monday in a keynote speech for the South Korea-U.S. Strategic Forum, jointly hosted by the Korea Foundation and the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Choi said that South Korea is focusing on establishing a lasting structure for engaging with North Korea, though the peace process can be long and painful.

He stressed that North Korea may have doubts and hesitations and that it's important to create a framework that can convince North Korea to continue with the process. 

The vice minister added that the war-ending declaration is a good ticket to start this, but it's hard to predict if North Korea will react positively.

He also said that with the declaration, the Seoul government intends to commence the process of making irreversible progress in denuclearization and turning the armistice into a peace regime.