Lee reaffirms commitment to restoring inter-Korean trust

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday reaffirmed his commitment to taking proactive steps to restore trust with North Korea and promote peace on the Korean Peninsula, calling on Pyongyang to respond to Seoul's overtures, Report informs via Yonhap.

Lee made the remarks in a message sent to a ceremony commemorating the eighth anniversary of the Panmunjom Declaration, a landmark agreement signed in April 2018 by then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the truce village of Panmunjom.

"The government will steadfastly pursue a policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in the message, which was read on his behalf by presidential senior secretary for political affairs Hong Ik-pyo during the ceremony held at the National Assembly.

"We will proactively take steps that we can initiate first to restore inter-Korean trust and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula," the president added. "We hope the North will also trust our government's sincerity and respond."

Lee said establishing a permanent peace regime and achieving coexistence and shared prosperity between the two Koreas reflect the core spirit of the declaration and the future that must be pursued.

The two Koreas remain technically at war as the 1950–53 Korean War ended with a truce, not a peace treaty.

"We must ensure that uncertainties and anxieties in the international situation caused by the war in the Middle East do not spill over to the Korean Peninsula, and chart a path in which all people can live without fear of war," he said.

Lee noted his government has already taken steps to restore inter-Korean trust since taking office in June 2025, while also reaffirming its commitment to ensuring peace through various initiatives.

"We have made it clear that we respect the North's system, will not pursue unification by absorption, and will refrain from any hostile acts," he said.