‘Begin discussions’: South Korea’s Lee Jae Myung calls for talks with North Korea

File photo: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (left) and North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un (Picture) credit: Reuters)

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday called for talks with North Korea to formally end the Korean War, seeking to replace the decades-old armistice with a peace arrangement and ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.Speaking at a ceremony marking Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee urged the two Koreas to set aside their intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions on ending the war, which technically remains unresolved.“Let us put down our intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions to end the long-running war as the directly involved parties,” Lee said.The 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war.

Lee seeks peace regime, nuclear dialogue with North Korea

Lee said dialogue could also address North Korea’s growing nuclear capabilities.“Through this, it may also be possible to discuss effective measures to halt the advancement of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities,” he said.According to Reuters, Lee said Seoul would pursue pre-emptive and sustained steps to reduce tensions and establish safeguards aimed at preventing escalation. He also called for replacing the existing armistice with a “peace regime”.Lee, who took office in June 2025, has adopted a more conciliatory approach towards Pyongyang than his predecessor, offering talks without preconditions and stressing peaceful coexistence.However, North Korea has so far rejected repeated engagement offers from Seoul. Leader Kim Jong Un has abandoned Pyongyang’s previous reunification policy, described South Korea as its most hostile state and ordered stronger frontline defences.

North Korea deepens Russia ties as tensions persist

Lee’s proposal comes as North Korea continues to strengthen its military relationship with Russia.According to news agency AFP, analysts say Pyongyang is receiving financial support, food, energy and military technology from Moscow in exchange for supplying troops and ammunition for Russia’s war in Ukraine.North Korea has also continued to assert its status as an “irreversible” nuclear state. Pyongyang adopted that position after a 2019 summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over disagreements on denuclearisation and sanctions relief.In July, South Korea’s unification minister said Seoul had moved away from prioritising pressure on Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear arsenal, focusing instead on stopping further expansion of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.

US-South Korea drills add to tensions

Lee’s call for dialogue comes just days before annual US-South Korean military exercises, which North Korea has condemned as provocative.The 11-day joint exercises are scheduled to begin Monday. Washington maintains about 28,500 troops in South Korea as part of its security commitment to Seoul.Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, said North Korea’s involvement in the Ukraine war had implications for the threat facing forces on the Korean Peninsula.“They’ve taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea,” he said, referring to military experience gained from the conflict.“Our training accounts for that threat,” he added.North Korea has also criticised South Korea’s plans for nuclear-powered submarines and has continued to strengthen its military posture.

Lee seeks reset with Japan too

In his speech, Lee also addressed relations with Japan, saying Seoul should confront the history of Japanese colonial rule while keeping the door open to closer ties.He said he hoped the two countries could begin a new “60 years of peace and prosperity” with Japan as a “close neighbour”.Lee’s outreach to Pyongyang nevertheless faces a major challenge: North Korea has so far shown little interest in returning to dialogue, while its expanding nuclear arsenal and deepening military ties with Russia have complicated Seoul’s push for peaceful coexistence.