President Lee Proposes Dialogue Among Parties to End the War

[Anchor]

President Lee Jae-myung proposed yesterday, during his Liberation Day congratulatory address, starting discussions among the concerned parties to end the long-standing war. As a blueprint for North Korea policy, he presented a vision of "peaceful coexistence through inclusion, stability, and responsibility."

Reporter Kim Hye-young has the details.

[Reporter]

What President Lee proposed in his congratulatory address for the 81st Liberation Day yesterday was direct discussions among the concerned parties to transform the Korean Peninsula's armistice system into a peace system.

[President Lee Jae-myung: Let us begin discussions among the concerned parties to end this very long-standing war. Through this, effective measures to halt the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities can also be discussed.]

Although he did not explicitly name the countries qualifying as "concerned parties," the proposal is interpreted as broadly encompassing bilateral dialogues—such as inter-Korean, North Korea-U.S., and U.S.-China talks—as well as three-way and four-way multilateral tables, centered around South and North Korea, the United States, and China, which were involved in the Korean War and the armistice system.

There is also a strategic expectation that as the concerned nations put their heads together to transition toward a peace regime, a solution to halt North Korea's nuclear program could naturally emerge alongside it.

President Lee also presented a three-pillar blueprint for implementing North Korea policy, centered on "inclusive, stable, and responsible peaceful coexistence."

[President Lee Jae-myung: I hope that South and North Korea will sit down together for peaceful coexistence and common growth. This will serve as a starting point not for concession, but for coexistence.]

Regarding Japan, President Lee emphasized that trust between the peoples of both countries is necessary for the achievements of South Korea-Japan cooperation to continue, stating the following:

[President Lee Jae-myung: The light of a new South Korea-Japan relationship must be able to offer warm comfort to those who still endure pain in the shadow of history.]

This places emphasis on a "future" built on a foundation of "trust."

[President Lee Jae-myung: As neighbors that are close yet close, I hope we can open a new 60 years of peace and prosperity together.]

President Lee also promised to confiscate assets unjustly accumulated by pro-Japanese anti-national collaborators to firmly hold history accountable, and to ensure that those financial resources are fully dedicated to honoring independence fighters and their bereaved families.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
(Video Coverage: Jung Sang-bo | Video Editing: Lee Seung-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.