South Korean President Urges Peace Talks with North Korea

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Saturday for talks with North Korea (DPRK) with the aim of replacing the current armistice with a peace treaty and achieving peaceful coexistence. He made the remarks in a speech marking the 81st anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, according to a Reuters report.

The talks could also explore appropriate measures to limit the DPRK's nuclear capabilities, Lee said, adding that Seoul would take preemptive and long-term steps to ease tensions and establish a multi-layered security system to prevent escalation.

The president said that the DPRK and interested parties should engage in dialogue to formally end the Korean War of 1950–1953. South and North Korea signed an armistice at that time, but they never signed a peace treaty. Only a so-called demilitarized zone was established along their shared border.

With this call, Lee followed up on his promise from last year to respect the DPRK's system and strive for peaceful coexistence between the two countries on the Korean Peninsula.

Relations between North and South Korea remain frozen. DPRK leader Kim Jong-un has abandoned the reunification policy previously pursued by Pyongyang, designated the southern neighbor as his country's greatest enemy, and ordered the strengthening of border defenses. The DPRK has long rejected offers from the South Korean president to establish dialogue. Pyongyang has also criticized Seoul's plan to build nuclear-powered submarines and condemned joint US-South Korean military exercises.

(tasr, reuters)