South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to respect each other, refrain from unnecessary confrontation, and pursue peaceful coexistence and mutual growth.

In an address marking the 81st anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule on Saturday, Lee called for dialogue among the directly concerned parties to officially end the Korean War and transform the Korean Peninsula's unstable armistice into a peace regime.

"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 in his speech.

"Through this, it may also be possible to discuss effective measures to halt the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities."

Lee's proposal came as the DPRK this week denounced upcoming annual US-South Korean military drills, warning of stronger deterrence measures.

The DPRK has also recently been bristling over Japan's gradual military build-up in the Pacific after Tokyo pledged to up its defence capabilities with a "sense of urgency and crisis".

Lee has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in Seoul in June 2025, offering the nuclear-armed DPRK talks without preconditions.

Washington, Seoul's key security ally, stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolter the country's defences.

Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, said this week that the DPRK's deployment of troops to the European war had changed the threat his soldiers may face on the Korean peninsula.

"They've taken those lessons they learned there and brought them back to North Korea," he said as he talked about the 11-day South Korea-US joint exercises due to begin on Monday.

"Our training accounts for that threat." (Xinhua/AFP)


Edited by Tony Sabine