President Lee Jae Myung on Monday urged a phased rollout of inter-Korean agreements forged in 2018 by the previous Moon Jae-in government, despite North Korea’s chilly stance toward Seoul.
"An (improved) North-South relationship is very crucial for safeguarding our national interest amid a changing external environment and broadening South Korea's diplomatic horizon," Lee said during a Cabinet meeting held Monday to start a four-day civil defense exercise alongside this year's Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise.
"I hereby ask the government for a phased implementation of the existing pact between the North and the South," Lee said.
Lee did not elaborate on what the "existing pact" referred to, but it apparently meant the 2018 military pact between the two Koreas, according to the presidential office. The pact signed in 2018 was aimed at halting military activities by dismantling guard posts at the Demilitarized Zone along the border and disarming the Joint Security Area at Panmunjom.
One of the agenda items discussed at the Cabinet meeting was "sorting out what could be implemented" in the existing inter-Korean agreements, adding that some of the agenda items stem from the 2018 agreement, presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a briefing Monday.
Kang added that during the national security council meeting Lee convened on Monday, he expressed his belief that the Ulchi exercise "is not meant to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula" but rather to "achieve peace" on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee also reiterated Monday that achieving peace on the Korean Peninsula without conflict is the highest level of security that can be achieved, adding that this would be preferable to winning against an opponent through struggle or battle.
Lee's Monday remarks echoed his National Liberation Day speech on Friday, in which he pledged to "proactively and gradually restore" the 2018 agreement. He also pledged to revive channels for practical cooperation between the two Koreas.
This came a year after Seoul unveiled a "Unification Doctrine" in 2024 that outlined a unified, liberal democracy across the Korean Peninsula, a few months after former conservative President Yoon Suk Yeol nullified the 2018 deal with North Korea.
In her latest rebuke of South Korea, Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said in a statement Thursday that South Korea's efforts toward detente are "nothing but a pipedream," describing them as a "shabby, deceptive farce" that Pyongyang does not find enticing.
Lee, however, stressed consistency in the South's peace efforts during Monday's Cabinet meeting.
"What we need is courage to boldly take steps to ease tensions on the foundation of an ironclad defense readiness posture," Lee said. "The two Koreas will eventually restore mutual trust if we continue to take small actions --it's like accumulating gravel particles, thereby widening the path to peace so we can lay a cornerstone for the two Koreas to grow together."
Meanwhile, Lee approved contentious bills that had been vetoed by former President Yoon, including one to reform the governance of public broadcasters, as well as bills to support farmers, extend funding for free high school education, and others.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
