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President Lee calls for South, North to end 'era of confrontation' during March 1 speech

Published: 01 Mar. 2026, 13:26 Updated: 01 Mar. 2026, 17:28

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during an event commemorating March 1 Independence Movement Day at Coex in southern Seoul on March 1. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday urged South and North Korea to “put an end to this era of confrontation and conflict” and resume dialogue, as he marked the 107th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement at Coex in Gangnam District, southern Seoul.

“Building a peaceful Korean Peninsula — where we can grow together through coexistence and cooperation, not hostility, and on a foundation of trust, not mistrust — is the true way to fully uphold the spirit of the March 1 Movement,” Lee said. “Let us put an end to this era of confrontation and conflict that has persisted for well over half a century and usher in a Korean Peninsula of peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity.”

Lee’s remarks came on March 1 Independence Movement Day, which commemorates the 1919 independence uprising — also known as the March 1 Movement — when Korean activists declared independence and launched peaceful nationwide demonstrations against Japan’s 1910-1945 colonial rule of the peninsula.

Lee reiterated his administration’s stance toward Pyongyang.

“We respect the North’s system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts nor pursue any form of unification by absorption,” he said.

Lee addressed last year’s unmanned aerial vehicle incursion into North Korea and renewed his apology, referring to a joint military-police investigation that found a civilian flew drones across the border four times from September last year to January.

A North Korean flag flutters at the propaganda village of Gijungdong in North Korea, in this picture taken near the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone, separating the two Koreas, in South Korea on July 19, 2022. [REUTERS/YONHAP]

“Last year’s unexpected incursion into North Korea of an unmanned aerial vehicle was a grave threat to peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “We will thoroughly ascertain the truth about this incident and implement institutional safeguards to ensure that it never occurs again.”

He stressed the need to restart diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang.

“As a ‘pacemaker,’ we will communicate with the United States and neighboring countries to ensure that dialogue between North Korea and the United States resumes as soon as possible,” he said. “We will make every effort to convert the armistice system to a peace regime by substantively easing tensions between the two Koreas and working with relevant countries.”

In this June 30, 2019, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, meets with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the border village of Panmunjom in Demilitarized Zone in South Korea. [AP/YONHAP]

Lee urged North Korea to return to talks as it implements a new economic plan.

“Since North Korea is formulating and implementing a new five-year plan, I hope that it will swiftly return to the negotiating table and join us in shaping a new future,” he said.

North Korea’s new five-year plan, announced at the Ninth Congress of the Workers’ Party of Korea in February, outlines goals to strengthen the economy and defense over the next five years.

Lee's speech did not specify a timeline for inter-Korean or North Korea–United States talks. Turning to Japan, Lee said Seoul and Tokyo should strengthen cooperation despite unresolved historical grievances.

“Over the past 60 years, Korea and Japan have deepened their cooperation across all areas, including diplomacy, the economy, society and culture, advancing their relationship as close neighbors with a common front yard,” he said. “Facing a stark international situation, now is the time for our two countries to respond to present realities and work together to usher in a better future.

“I look forward to the Japanese government’s continued engagement so that, together, our two countries may create a friendly new world based on genuine mutual understanding and empathy.”

Lee also emphasized trilateral cooperation in Northeast Asia and cited independence activist Ahn Jung-geun (1879-1910).

“In his ‘Treatise on Peace in the East,’ independence activist Ahn Jung-geun stressed that cooperation among Korea, China and Japan is the path toward world peace,” he said.

The “Treatise on Peace in the East” is an unfinished essay that Ahn wrote in 1910 while imprisoned by Japan, in which he argued that Korea, China and Japan should cooperate politically and economically to ensure lasting peace in Northeast Asia.

Speaking more broadly about the global situation, Lee warned that the rules that have guided the international community for decades are now under strain, although he did not mention any particular ongoing conflict.

President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during an event commemorating March 1 Movement Day at Coex in southern Seoul on March 1. [NEWS1]

“A century ago, when the March 1 Movement took place, the world was in the throes of great upheavals — it was an era when the strong exploited the weak,” he said. “Yet today, a century later, the world once again faces another period of cataclysms. The international norms established over the past 80 years — since the end of World War II — are being seriously threatened by power politics.”

He described the March 1 Movement as a guide for the present.

“The March 1 Movement was both a declaration of independence and a declaration of peace,” he said. “It served as a compass, guiding us toward a future of peaceful coexistence.”

Lee contrasted Korea’s colonial past with its rise into one of the world’s leading economies and a country with growing global influence.

“In 1919, we were a powerless people living under colonial subjugation,” he said. “But the Korean people of 2026 possess the power to move hearts around the globe and the boundless potential to transform the world.”

“I dare say that I am confident that the spirit of the March 1 Movement — championed by our forebears and steadfastly upheld by our people — will serve as a beacon for the global community as it endures an era of crisis in which democracy and peace are disrupted, guiding it toward a new world of hope.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY OH HYUN-SEOK [[email protected]]