South Korean President Lee vows to respect North Korea's political system

Seoul, Aug 15 (IANS) South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said Friday that he would respect North Korea's political system and will not pursue unification by absorption while pledging to take steps to restore the 2018 inter-Korean military deal to reduce tensions.

Lee's speech marking the 80th anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japan's 1910-1945 colonial rule came a day after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, rebuffed a recent reconciliatory overture by the Lee administration as a "pipe dream."

Lee extended an olive branch to North Korea and outlined his vision for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a speech to mark Liberation Day, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"We affirm our respect for the North's current system, aver that we will not pursue any form of unification by absorption and assert that we have no intention of engaging in hostile acts," Lee said during a ceremony held at the Sejong Center for Performing Arts.

To prevent accidental clashes between the two Koreas and build military trust, Lee said South Korea will take "proactive, gradual steps" to restore the 2018 military tension reduction pact to prevent accidental clashes and build trust.

However, Lee made it clear that North Korea's denuclearization must be achieved for a peaceful Korean Peninsula.

"A peaceful Korean Peninsula must be free of nuclear weapons and based on friendly cooperation with neighboring countries," he said.

Restoring the military pact, which was suspended amid tensions between Seoul and Pyongyang during the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration, was one of Lee's election pledges.

Since taking office in June, Lee has ordered the military to stop propaganda broadcasts along the border and urged activists to halt sending balloons across the border, in the first concrete steps to improve inter-Korean ties.

The South Korean military said the North stopped its broadcasts after Seoul's actions, but Kim Yo-jong denied reports that North Korea was removing propaganda loudspeakers.

Lee underscored the importance of restoring trust to create the conditions for resuming dialogue, expressing hopes that Pyongyang will reciprocate Seoul's efforts.

"More important than winning a fight and more important than winning without a fight is building a state where fighting is unnecessary -- that is, creating peace," he said.

On Japan, Lee pledged to pursue "forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation" with Japan through active "shuttle diplomacy," as he is set to visit Tokyo for summit talks with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba later this month shortly before a planned summit with US President Donald Trump.

"Guided by the principle of pragmatic, national interest-focused diplomacy, we will seek forward-looking, mutually beneficial cooperation with Japan while holding frequent meetings and frank dialogues through shuttle diplomacy," Lee said.

Also marking the 60th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations, Lee said Seoul and Tokyo should face their painful history and redefine bilateral ties to move forward, describing Japan as "a neighbor across the sea" and "an indispensable partner" in economic development.

"I hope that the Japanese government will squarely face up to our painful history and strive to maintain trust between our two countries," he said.

Lee's two-day visit to Japan on Aug. 23-24 will be an opportunity to deepen personal ties with Ishiba and discuss ways to strengthen trilateral cooperation with the United States, as well as discuss regional peace and stability, the presidential office said.

Ahead of his planned visit to the US, Lee vowed to tackle challenges arising from changing economic and security environments and to seize new opportunities in cutting-edge technologies, including semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

"The Korea-US tariff negotiations are just one wave in this storm. More waves will surge forward in quick succession in the months ahead," he said. "It is entirely up to us whether we are swept away by towering waves and shipwrecked, or whether we turn this crisis into an opportunity and surge ahead."

Lee's upcoming summit with Trump is expected to discuss alliance security issues, as well as industrial cooperation in the semiconductor, battery and shipbuilding sectors, based on the trade deal the two countries clinched earlier this month, according to the presidential office.

--IANS

akl/as