President Lee Jae Myung vowed Tuesday to continue efforts to promote peaceful coexistence with North Korea and mutual prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue based on "firm deterrence."
Lee made the remarks in a video message for the opening ceremony of the Seoul Defense Dialogue, stressing the need for stronger security cooperation amid unprecedented and complex challenges in the international security environment.
"We will unwaveringly continue efforts to achieve peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through trust and dialogue based on firm deterrence," Lee said.
He added that South Korea is working to broaden the horizon for dialogue on peace and prosperity through mutual respect and cooperation based on its independent defense capabilities.
"Confrontations and armed conflicts between countries are continuing across the world while the global nuclear nonproliferation regime that has underpinned global peace for decades is also being seriously undermined," he said.
Lee also noted that rapidly advancing technologies, including artificial intelligence, have become a source of new security threats that are unpredictable.
He called for a new model of security cooperation based on "strong deterrence, international norms and shared resilience," saying such challenges cannot be addressed by a single country. (Yonhap)
