Home > National > Politics

'Restore trust and revive dialogue': Lee signals de-escalation with North in 1st Liberation Day address

Published: 15 Aug. 2025, 12:32

SARAH KIM
[email protected]

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during a ceremony marking the 80th Liberation Day at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung said his administration has no plans of absorbing North Korea, signaling intent to restore a 2018 inter-Korean military pact, de-escalate border tensions and revive dialogue with Pyongyang in his first Liberation Day address on Friday.

Lee called to "immediately restore trust and revive dialogue" between the two Koreas, speaking at a ceremony marking the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule at Sejong Center for the Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul.

"We affirm our respect for the North's current system," Lee said, promising his government "will not pursue any form of unification by absorption" and has "no intention of engaging in hostile acts."

He stressed that "trust is built through actions, not words, noting that since his inauguration in June, his administration has halted the launch of balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang leaflets and suspended loudspeaker broadcasts directed at the North.

This comes despite Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean leader's powerful younger sister, dismissing the Lee administration's recent reconciliatory gestures as a "pipe dream" in a statement Thursday.

Lee stressed in his address that his government will "respect existing agreements and immediately implement any possible measures."

"In particular, to prevent accidental clashes between South and North Korea and to build military trust, we will take proactive, gradual steps to restore the Sept. 19 military agreement," Lee said. He referred to the inter-Korean military agreement aimed at reducing inter-Korean border tensions signed on Sept. 19, 2018, during former President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's third summit in Pyongyang, suspended during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

In turn, Lee said he hopes Pyongyang will "reciprocate our efforts."

President Lee Jae Myung, center, waves the Korean flag during a ceremony marking the 80th Liberation Day at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Lee said now is the time to move beyond outdated Cold War confrontation structures and "usher in a new era of peace on the Korean Peninsula." He noted that the two Koreas "share a special relationship that involves pursuing peaceful reunification while respecting and recognizing one another's system."

However, he said that inter-Korean confrontation "threatens our lives, constrains economic development and presents a serious obstacle to our country's future."

He said, in line with the principles of common interest, co-prosperity and mutual aid, his administration will strive to "restore the basis for exchanges and cooperation and foster conditions for shared growth," which he said may lead to substantial improvements in the lives of both South and North Koreans.

While acknowledging that denuclearization is a "complex and difficult task that cannot be resolved quickly," Lee said he expects inter-Korean and U.S.-North dialogue, along with international cooperation, will help toward reaching a peaceful resolution.

Lee stressed that "a peaceful Korean Peninsula must be free of nuclear weapons and founded on friendly cooperation with neighboring countries."

Simultaneously, he said he plans to broaden international support and build consensus for peace on the Korean Peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean relations.

President Lee Jae Myung, left, presents the Order of Merit for National Foundation to a descendent of an independence activist during a ceremony marking the 80th Liberation Day at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Aug. 15. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Regarding relations with Japan, Lee said "it is time to squarely face the past while also wisely stepping forward into the future."

Lee said that there are those still suffering from unresolved historical issues stemming from colonial rule and that "differing perspectives continue to spawn conflicts." At the same time, he described Japan as "our neighbor across the sea as well as an indispensable partner in our economic development."

A president's Liberation Day address often sets the tone for the administration's diplomatic approach toward Tokyo, and Lee presented a two-track, forward-looking vision as South Korea and Japan mark the 60th anniversary of the normalization of bilateral relations.

"Guided by the principle of pragmatic, national interest-focused diplomacy, we will seek forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan while holding frequent meetings and frank dialogues through shuttle diplomacy," Lee said.

Lee noted the hopes of independence activists and said, "Even while resisting Japan's harsh colonial rule, our forebears never lost hope that Korea and Japan could one day become true neighbors. We must preserve this aspiration."

The remarks come ahead of Lee's two-day visit to Japan on Aug. 23 and 24 for a bilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, before a trip to the United States.

In his address, Lee also stressed, "Liberation Day is not simply the day we regained our independence. It is also the day we reclaimed freedom and the right to determine our own future and choose the course of our lives."

He referred to President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law imposition last December and said, "We must stand together to ensure that the light reclaimed through liberation will never again be taken from us and that the light that survived dictatorship and insurrection will never be snuffed out."

Lee called on the country to overcome national division and "forces seeking private gain" that exploit such division to build a "true democratic republic where popular sovereignty is fully realized."

"I would like to take this opportunity to once again urge everyone to work together and transcend divisive politics based on outdated ideologies and factionalism," Lee said. "I propose that we create politics of solidarity and mutual benefit founded on dialogue and concessions."

BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]