President Roh Moo-hyun says that he will place top priority on establishing a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula at the inter-Korean summit which begins Tuesday.

He made the remarks at a ceremony to mark the 59th Armed Forces Day, saying that there can be no co-prosperity and unification without a permanent peace regime.

The president said that the two Koreas would discuss military trust-building measures, the signing of a peace treaty and arms reduction once talks for a permanent peace mechanism for the peninsula gain steam.

He stressed that pursuing such a peace regime is the best strategy for national security, tasking the armed forces with embracing this goal while consolidating security cooperation in Northeast Asia.

Mr. Roh also called upon the military to work actively to build mutual trust with North Korea and to facilitate inter-Korean peace talks.