South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has proposed talks with North Korea to officially end the war between the two countries, which concluded with the 1953 armistice but was not followed by a peace treaty.
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During a ceremony marking Liberation Day, which commemorates the liberation of the Korean Peninsula from Japanese rule, Lee called on both sides to abandon threats and sit down at the negotiating table as parties directly involved in the conflict.
“Let us abandon our aims of threatening each other and begin talks to end the long war as parties directly involved,” he said.
The South Korean president also proposed creating a “multilayered security system” aimed at reducing tensions along the de facto border between the two countries, known as the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). He said he was also prepared to discuss concrete steps to limit Pyongyang’s nuclear ambitions.
Lee said he hoped that South Korea and North Korea “would sit face to face for peaceful coexistence and mutual development.” According to him, dialogue could become a forum for examining “effective ways to halt the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.”
North Korea has repeatedly conducted tests of nuclear-capable ballistic missiles. Seoul and neighboring Japan view these actions as attempts to intimidate adversaries and demonstrate strength, the BBC reported.
Although the military confrontation between the two powers controlling the Korean Peninsula has remained largely frozen since the 1953 armistice, tensions and incidents have been recorded along the Demilitarized Zone in recent decades. Both sides continue to accuse each other of provocations, including sending balloons carrying waste and propaganda materials, as well as using loudspeakers for propaganda broadcasts.
Lee took office as South Korea’s president last year after his predecessor, Yun Suk-yeol, was impeached for attempting to declare martial law. Since taking office, he has sought to improve relations with North Korea and its ally China, ties that had deteriorated during Yun’s leadership.
Pyongyang declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and vowed never to give up its nuclear weapons, of which it is estimated to possess dozens.
Lee previously said that North Korea was producing 15 to 20 nuclear warheads each year. In an interview with the BBC last year, he said he would support an agreement between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un to freeze production. He described this as a “realistic” goal, while Seoul continued to call for complete denuclearization.
North Korea has not responded to Lee’s latest proposal. Previously, Pyongyang had also rejected his initiatives to develop dialogue.
