South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Saturday for talks with North Korea and other concerned parties to pursue peaceful coexistence and replace the Korean peninsula’s armistice with a peace regime.
Lee said discussions should include safeguards to prevent conflict and could explore measures to curb North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. The 1950-53 Korean war ended in a ceasefire, not a peace treaty.
What Lee proposed
In a speech marking Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee said the two Koreas should hold talks aimed at coexistence. He said Seoul would take pre-emptive and sustained steps to ease tensions and build layered safeguards to contain escalation.
The proposal builds on Lee’s pledge last year to respect North Korea’s system and seek peaceful coexistence with Pyongyang.
Related coverage: North Korea launches missile before US-South Korea drills.
Why the proposal faces obstacles
Relations between North and South Korea remain frozen. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has abandoned Pyongyang’s reunification policy, described South Korea as its most hostile state and ordered stronger frontline defences.
North Korea has rebuffed Lee’s engagement offers, criticised Seoul’s plan for nuclear-powered submarines and denounced joint US-South Korean military drills as provocations.
Lee’s message on Japan
Lee also called for South Korea and Japan to confront their past while keeping their future relationship open. He said he hoped to begin a new 60 years of peace and prosperity with Japan as a close neighbour.
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