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| PM Ishiba meeting President of South Kore Lee Jae-myung |
South Korea’s Lee Calls for Talks With North to Build Peace
SEOUL — August 15, 2026
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on North Korea on Saturday to resume dialogue aimed at peaceful coexistence, saying Seoul wants stronger safeguards to prevent military clashes and eventually replace the Korean Peninsula’s armistice with a formal peace framework.
Lee made the appeal in a speech marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule. He said the two Koreas should find a way to live alongside each other and urged discussions involving North Korea and other countries concerned with the Korean Peninsula.
The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically still at war. Lee said renewed talks could address ways to end the conflict formally and could also examine practical measures to reduce North Korea’s nuclear capabilities.
He said South Korea would take early and continuing steps to lower tensions while establishing several layers of safeguards designed to prevent local incidents from escalating into larger conflict. The approach builds on his earlier pledge to respect North Korea’s political system and pursue peaceful coexistence.
Relations between Seoul and Pyongyang remain severely strained. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has moved away from the goal of reunification with the South, described South Korea as the country’s most hostile state and ordered stronger military defences along the border.
North Korea has also rejected Lee’s previous attempts at engagement. Pyongyang has criticized South Korea’s plans for nuclear-powered submarines and repeatedly condemned joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States as provocative.
Lee’s proposal comes as the South Korean government seeks to reduce the risk of confrontation while maintaining its security commitments. Any meaningful dialogue would face major obstacles, particularly over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme and the two sides’ sharply different views of their relationship.
In his remarks, Lee also addressed South Korea’s ties with Japan. He said Seoul should acknowledge historical issues while focusing on future cooperation, expressing hope that the two countries could build another period of peace and prosperity as close neighbours.
The president’s appeal represents an effort to reopen the possibility of diplomacy at a time when inter-Korean relations have become increasingly difficult. Whether Pyongyang responds remains uncertain, but Seoul says it wants dialogue to play a greater role in preventing conflict and establishing lasting peace.
