In first UN address, President Lee proposes initiative to end ‘Cold War on the Korean Peninsula’
Published: 24 Sep. 2025, 02:15
Updated: 24 Sep. 2025, 14:56
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![South Korean President Lee Jae Myung addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/ffedec79-2b82-49df-af8f-5cefa6d715d5.jpg)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung addresses the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
NEW YORK — President Lee Jae Myung proposed a bold new initiative to end hostilities and bring about peace on the Korean Peninsula, centered on "exchanges, normalization and denuclearization," in his first address at the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday.
"The most certain peace is a state where there is no need to fight," Lee said as he made his debut at the United Nations, delivering an address at the 80th session of the UN General Assembly.
Lee called to "end the era of hostility and confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and usher in a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth" through comprehensive dialogue with Pyongyang centered on "exchange," "normalization" and "denuclearization," or the so-called END initiative.
He reaffirmed that his government respects the current North Korean regime, pledging that it will not pursue any form of unification by absorption, and that it has no intention of engaging in hostile acts.
"The Republic of Korea will end the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula through the 'END initiative' and fulfill its responsibility and role to contribute to world peace and prosperity," Lee said. This marks the first time Lee has publicly named his peace initiative toward North Korea, though he previously proposed a three-stage phased denuclearization approach comprised of freezing, reducing and eventually dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Lee's keynote address comes as more than 150 world leaders gathered to attend the annual General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York. He was the seventh world leader to make an address on the first day of the general debate.
He noted that since taking office in June, his administration has proactively taken measures to help end the "vicious cycle of unnecessary inter-Korean military tension and hostile acts," including halting the launches of propaganda leaflets and suspending broadcasts toward the North.
"By gradually expanding inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, we will pave the way for sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said, asking the international community to join the two Koreas to work together toward this end.
Lee said while striving to advance inter-Korean relations, Seoul will actively support efforts to normalize relations with the international community including between North Korea and the United States.
"It is time to seek realistic and rational solutions based on a coolheaded perception that denuclearization cannot be achieved in the short term," Lee said, while acknowledging denuclearization remains a "grave task."
He urged the international community to take a "pragmatic and phased solution" beginning with a "stop" in North Korea's sophistication of nuclear and missile capabilities, undergoing a "reduction" process and reaching "dismantlement."
He said that realizing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula is "by no means an impossible dream," saying that Seoul will consistently seek a path to reduce military tensions and restore inter-Korean trust.
Lee said that peace is the "basic foundation for democracy and economic development."
![South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gives an address at the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/b24c2476-52f3-4509-b295-922cfb37ec1e.jpg)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung gives an address at the 80th United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee also noted that South Korea's success as a democratic nation shows the "value of the UN's existence" as it marks its 80th anniversary.
Lee spoke about Korea's history of liberation from the 1910-45 Japanese colonial rule coinciding with the "very year that the United Nations was founded," noting that "the Republic of Korea emerged from the scars of division and ashes of war through UN assistance, maintaining national identity while achieving industrialization and blooming into a democracy."
He underscored how South Korea has risen with "indomitable strength" each time democracy and peace were in crisis.
"Even a self-coup could not break the people of the Republic of Korea's strong will desiring democracy and peace," Lee said, referring to ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol's imposition of martial law last December.
"'The revolution of light' that the people of the Republic of Korea achieved against the darkness of the insurrection last winter was a historic moment that demonstrated the brilliant achievement of the UN spirit," Lee said.
Lee then declared that a "new Republic of Korea, which will be a beacon of light for global citizens, has completely returned to the international community."
Likewise, Lee said that a democratic South Korea "will lead the way in multilateral cooperation toward a sustainable future." He noted that South Korea is fulfilling its responsibility as a key contributor to the UN's peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.
He also highlighted that South Korea developed from an aid recipient country to a donor country.
![South Korean President Lee Jae Myung addresses the 80th session of the UN General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/c7fa3d46-f457-4bdd-b347-2de21752c3ae.jpg)
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung addresses the 80th session of the UN General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Sept. 23. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Threats to peace go beyond physical elements and called for the need to confront "invisible enemies," Lee noted, adding that AI technology is critical to security capabilities as cyberattacks threaten national security.
Lee said South Korea is pursuing a "great energy transition," leveraging its science and technology and digital innovation to increase energy efficiency and expand renewable energy options.
"We will strive to ensure that the vision of 'AI for all,' where advances in cutting-edge technology contribute to the universal values of humanity, becomes the 'new normal' for the international community," Lee said in his General Assembly address.
Lee further highlighted how K-culture is "connecting people all over the world beyond borders, language and cultural differences," showing that "universal empathy is possible."
During his speech, Lee quoted Han Kang, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature, saying that "the Republic of Korea will be a milestone of light for all who join the journey toward democracy."
He pledged that South Korea "will boldly lead the way toward a new era of peaceful coexistence and shared growth on the Korean Peninsula, toward a better future together."
![U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/b5ef61a5-3d36-4d42-bca9-38d0707b1aeb.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Sept. 23. [REUTERS/YONHAP]
Other speakers on Tuesday, the first day of the high-level general discussion, included Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who was the first speaker according to UN tradition, and U.S. President Donald Trump, who spoke second, going beyond his allotted 15 minutes.
Trump began his address quipping about a broken teleprompter, which later got fixed. He mentioned South Korea in his speech as one of the countries the United States sealed a trade deal with, but didn't mention North Korea.
Lee and Trump held their first summit in Washington last month after weeks of difficult tariff negotiations, during which the U.S. president expressed support for Lee's vision to pursue peace on the Korean Peninsula through encouraging dialogue with the North.
During the summit, Lee asked Trump to play the role of "peacemaker" to encourage rapport with North Korea, saying he will play an assisting role as a "pacemaker." Trump in turn said he is interested in meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Likewise, Lee formed a bond with Brazil's leader over their shared experience as underage workers during their first summit on the margins of the Group of Seven (G7) summit in Canada in June.
Seoul's presidential office later confirmed that one or two North Korean delegates were present throughout Lee's keynote address.
![National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac gives a press briefing on President Lee Jae Myung's UN General Assembly schedule in New York on Sept. 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/24/5bc7427e-b43a-4be2-ad1b-affc8bffa0a3.jpg)
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac gives a press briefing on President Lee Jae Myung's UN General Assembly schedule in New York on Sept. 23. [YONHAP]
Instead, he said they should be seen as a mutually reinforcing structure, with progress in one area helping to advance another.
As an example, he said, “Building trust through exchange and cooperation can lead to the normalization of inter-Korean relations, and that normalization, in turn, can drive the denuclearization process.”
He said such principles are in line with past inter-Korean agreements and the joint declaration adopted by U.S. President Trump and North Korean leader Kim in their 2018 Singapore summit.
Lee was scheduled to hold a series of bilateral summits with global leaders on the margins of the UN gathering. There was interest in whether Lee and Trump will have another encounter, though another summit hasn't been scheduled according to the presidential office.
On Wednesday, Lee is set to preside over an open debate of the UN Security Council, a first for a South Korean president. He is set to discuss the responsible use of AI and its impact on peace and security.
He is also expected to share South Korea's vision for the future of AI through an "APEC AI Initiative" at the APEC summit in Gyeongju in late October.
Updated, Sept. 23: Added remarks from National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac's press briefing.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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