South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for talks with North Korea aimed at formally ending the Korean War, more than seven decades after fighting ceased without a peace treaty.
Lee proposed creating a “multi-layered security system” to prevent confrontations along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified de facto border separating the two countries. He also offered to discuss practical measures to curb the continued expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear programme.
North Korea has repeatedly tested ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, heightening security concerns in South Korea and neighbouring Japan. The launches are widely viewed as attempts by Pyongyang to demonstrate its military strength and exert pressure on regional rivals.
Although fighting in the Korean War ended with an armistice in 1953, the two sides never signed a formal peace agreement and therefore technically remain at war.
The decades since have been marked by periodic clashes and escalating tensions along the DMZ. Seoul and Pyongyang have also traded accusations of provocative activity, including sending balloons carrying rubbish or propaganda across the border.
Lee, who took office last year following the impeachment of former president Yoon Suk Yeol over his attempted declaration of martial law, has sought to improve relations with both North Korea and its ally China. Ties had deteriorated considerably during Yoon’s administration.
“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 during a Liberation Day ceremony commemorating the Korean Peninsula’s freedom from Japanese colonial rule.
He voiced hope that the two countries “will sit face-to-face for peaceful coexistence and mutual growth”, saying such talks could also provide an opportunity to explore “effective ways to halt the advancement of the North’s nuclear capabilities”.
North Korea has not yet publicly responded to the proposal. Its state news agency instead reported on leader Kim Jong Un’s Liberation Day commemorations, which included a wreath-laying ceremony and guard of honour.
Pyongyang has previously rejected Lee’s attempts to restart dialogue. It has criticised an agreement for the United States to help South Korea develop a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and condemned joint military exercises conducted by Seoul and Washington.
In January 2024, Kim declared that peaceful unification with South Korea was no longer possible. He called for the North Korean constitution to describe the South as a “primary foe and invariable principal enemy”.
Kim also said that, if war erupted on the peninsula, North Korea should seek to “occupy”, “recapture” and “incorporate” the South into its territory.
North Korea declared itself a nuclear-armed state in 2022 and pledged never to surrender its weapons. The country is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads.
Lee previously estimated that Pyongyang was producing between 15 and 20 additional warheads each year. In an interview with the BBC last year, he said he would support an agreement between US President Donald Trump and Kim to freeze further production.
Trump remains the only Western leader to have met Kim, holding talks with him during his first term in office. Although his attention has shifted towards other regions since returning to the White House, Trump said last August that he hoped to meet the North Korean leader again when “appropriate”.
Despite Lee’s diplomatic overture, tensions remain high. North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday in what was believed to be its 11th test of the year, just days before a scheduled joint military exercise between the United States and South Korea.
