South Korean President proposes talks with North Korea to formally end Korean War
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s call builds on his pledge in 2025 to respect North Korea’s system and seek peaceful coexistence with Pyongyang.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- South Korean President Lee Jae Myung proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the Korean War and to discuss halting North Korea's nuclear development.
- North Korea has rejected talks, strengthened military ties with Russia, and declared itself an irreversible nuclear state.
- The US and South Korea continue joint military drills, adapting to new threats from North Korea's involvement in the Ukraine war.
AI generated
SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Aug 15 proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the long-running Korean War, as Pyongyang deepens ties with Russia while asserting its status as an “irreversible” nuclear state.
The two Koreas remain technically at war as their 1950-1953 conflict, triggered by a North Korean attack, ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.
Lee made the proposal in his speech at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule.
“Let us put down our intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions to end the long-running war as the directly involved parties,” he 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.”
His proposal came as the North this week denounced upcoming annual US-South Korean military drills, warning of stronger deterrence measures.
Pyongyang has also recently been bristling over Japan’s gradual military build-up in the Pacific – firing off two missiles in as many weeks after Tokyo pledged to increase its defence capabilities with a “sense of urgency and crisis”.
North Korea has repeatedly declared itself an “irreversible” nuclear state, since a 2019 summit between its leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over the scope of denuclearisation and sanctions relief.
South Korea’s dovish President Lee has reversed the stance of his hawkish predecessor since taking power in Seoul in June 2025, offering nuclear-armed Pyongyang talks without preconditions.
In July, South Korea’s Unification Minister Chung Dong-young even claimed Seoul had abandoned its campaign prioritising pressure on the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons, focusing instead on halting the expansion of Pyongyang’s nuclear activities.
The North’s hermetic leadership has yet to respond to Lee’s repeated offers and has instead bolstered military ties with Russia.
Analysts say Pyongyang is receiving financial support, food, energy and military technology from Moscow for supplying troops and munitions for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Kim is expected to visit Russia later in 2026, potentially to discuss further weapons supplies to Moscow.
Washington, Seoul’s key security ally, stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to bolster the country’s defences against military threats from Pyongyang.
Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, said this week that North Korea’s deployment to the European war had changed the threat his soldiers may face on the Korean peninsula.
Referring to North Korean troops who went to Ukraine, he said: “They’ve taken those lessons they learnt there and brought them back to North Korea.” He was talking to reporters about the 11-day South Korea-US joint exercises due to begin on Aug 17.
“Our training accounts for that threat.” AFP
