Lee says Trump’s gestures revive hope for Korean peace regime, vows to help resume talks
Speaking to the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, President Lee said U.S. President Donald Trump’s outreach to Pyongyang could reopen dialogue and support a lasting peace regime.
President Lee Jae Myung, front row center, takes part in a "pledge for peace” alongside attendees during a meeting of the presidential Peaceful Unification Advisory Council’s American branch at a resort in Incheon on Sept. 2.JOINT PRESS CORPS
President Lee Jae Myung called for a peace regime to replace the armistice between the two Koreas on Wednesday, arguing that U.S. President Donald Trump’s gestures toward Pyongyang are creating the potential for change in the Korean Peninsula’s status quo.
"As U.S. President Trump’s decision has created at least some possibility of a shift in the situation on the Korean Peninsula, we must create the conditions for constructive discussions aimed at building trust and resuming dialogue between North Korea and the United States,” Lee said at a meeting of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, a presidential advisory body addressing Korean Peninsula matters, in Incheon.
Lee’s renewed his government's commitment to playing a leading role in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula, despite Pyongyang having recently rebuffed Seoul and Washington’s olive branch after the two allies reduced their annual summer military exercise, the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS), last month.
“We must transform the armistice regime — predicated on confrontation and conflict — into a peace regime that serves as a foundation for cooperation and prosperity, ensuring that tensions do not recur due to shifts in domestic politics or fluctuations in the international landscape,” Lee said.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire rather than a peace treaty.
“Peace on the Korean Peninsula is not a matter that concerns us alone,” Lee added. “It is a key task for stability in Northeast Asia and, in the broader sense, for global peace.”
The four-day conference was attended by some 750 advisory members from 24 countries across North America and Central and South America, joined by some 600 others through videoconference.
Addressing the American regional meeting of the council, Lee reiterated his three-point blueprint for peaceful coexistence with North Korea, also outlined in his Liberation Day address on Aug. 15 — inclusive coexistence realized through action; stable coexistence that guarantees substantive security by eliminating sources of tension; and responsible coexistence that contributes to global peace by realizing peace on the Korean Peninsula.
“Now that the signposts are in place, it is time to move forward,” Lee said, urging members in the Americas to lend their support to his peace initiative through communication with experts, lawmakers and locals in their respective countries.
U.S. President Donald Trump, right, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the truce village of Panmunjom at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on June 30, 2019.REUTERS/YONHAP
Last month, Trump called for the reduction of South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, citing his “good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He has since doubled down on his interest in resuming dialogue with his longtime pen pal.
“As a direct party to this momentous task, we will fulfill our responsibilities through the transfer of wartime operational control [Opcon],” Lee added, referring to his key vision of South Korea regaining Opcon from the United States within his five-year term.
Lee’s remarks come despite Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of the North Korean leader, criticizing Lee for being “two-faced” and for flattering Trump in a statement on Aug. 20.
North Korea through state media has also denounced South Korea-U.S. drills and a trilateral military exercise with Japan, the Freedom Edge, set to begin Monday.
However, Pyongyang has generally refrained from directly insulting Trump.
On Monday, Kelly McKeague, director of the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA), said the White House had asked the Pentagon what it could do should Trump reach a deal with Kim, including in regard to recovering the remains of U.S. troops killed during the Korean War. Notably, Trump and Kim Jong-un committed to recovering the remains of U.S. troops killed during the Korean War as a part of their historic joint agreement signed at the Singapore summit on June 12, 2018.
Likewise, South Korea's National Intelligence Service told the National Assembly's intelligence committee Tuesday that a Kim-Trump summit could take place "at any time," indicating possible signs of dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
