Lee vows to swiftly restore dialogue channels with North

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Residents of Dangsan-ri in Songhae-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon, point toward loudspeakers set up on a hillside in North Korea’s Gaepung County on June 12. The speakers, used for anti-South propaganda broadcasts, appeared to have been turned off in response to Seoul halting its loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North. [YONHAP]
Residents of Dangsan-ri in Songhae-myeon, Ganghwa County, Incheon, point toward loudspeakers set up on a hillside in North Korea’s Gaepung County on June 12. The speakers, used for anti-South propaganda broadcasts, appeared to have been turned off in response to Seoul halting its loudspeaker broadcasts toward the North.

President Lee Jae-myung on Thursday vowed to pursue a swift restoration of dialogue channels with North Korea, a day after South Korea halted loudspeaker broadcasts against the North in his first concrete measure to ease tensions with Pyongyang.

In a speech marking the 25th anniversary of the 2000 inter-Korean summit, Lee said he will "stop the exhausting hostilities" with North Korea and resume inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation.

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"We will swiftly restore a crisis management system that prevents accidental clashes and avoids escalating tensions," Lee said. "To that end, we will make efforts to quickly restore the suspended inter-Korean communication channels."

Still, it remains to be seen how North Korea will react to Lee's overture, as Pyongyang has appeared to have little appetite for engagement with either Seoul or Washington amid its deepening alignment with Russia.

A South Korean military loudspeaker facility used for broadcasts toward North Korea is seen near the border in Paju, Gyeonggi, on June 12. [YONHAP]
A South Korean military loudspeaker facility used for broadcasts toward North Korea is seen near the border in Paju, Gyeonggi, on June 12.

"I will make every effort to promote peace, coexistence and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said in the speech delivered on his behalf by Woo Sang-ho, presidential secretary for political affairs, during a commemorative event.

Lee praised the June 15 Declaration signed by former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during a 2000 summit as a milestone that laid the groundwork for peace and pledged to uphold the spirit of the landmark agreement.

"Let's transform the Korean Peninsula risk into a Korean Peninsula premium. That is the path forward for both the South and the North," he said.

Yonhap

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