Seoul rules out unification of North Korea by ‘absorption’, pushes for peace

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung said he will seek to restore a 2018 military pact with Pyongyang designed to reduce border tensions

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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung speaks during a ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule in Seoul on Friday. Photo: AP

Published: 11:42am, 15 Aug 2025

South Korea’s new liberal President, Lee Jae-myung, said on Friday he will seek to restore a 2018 military agreement with North Korea aimed at reducing border tensions and urged Pyongyang to respond to Seoul’s efforts to rebuild trust and revive dialogue.

Speaking on the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee’s overture came amid soaring tensions fuelled by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s nuclear ambitions and deepening ties with Russia over the war in Ukraine.

The 2018 military agreement, reached during a brief period of diplomacy between Kim and South Korea’s former liberal president Moon Jae-in, created buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to prevent clashes.

South Korea’s previous conservative government suspended the deal in 2024, citing tensions over North Korea’s launches of trash-laden balloons towards the South, and moved to resume frontline military activities and propaganda campaigns. The step came after North Korea had already declared it would no longer abide by the agreement.

“To prevent accidental clashes between South and North Korea and to build military trust, we will take proactive, gradual steps to restore the [2018] September 19 military agreement,” Lee said in a televised speech.

Lee said his government affirms “our respect for the North’s current system” and that the wealthier South “will not pursue any form of unification by absorption and has no intention of engaging in hostile acts”.

Lee said South Korea remains committed to an international push to denuclearise North Korea and urged Pyongyang to resume dialogue with Washington and Seoul. Amid a prolonged diplomatic stalemate with its rivals, Kim’s government has made clear it has no intention of giving up the weapons it sees as its strongest guarantee of survival and would reject any future talks on denuclearisation.

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