South Korea proposes talks to formally end Korean War

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung proposed talks with North Korea to formally end the Korean War, saying the two sides should begin discussions as the directly involved parties.

Lee made the proposal in a speech at a ceremony marking the anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule.

"Let us put down our intentions to threaten each other and begin discussions to end the long-running war as the directly involved parties," Lee said. He added that such talks could also make it possible to discuss measures to halt the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 conflict ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty.

Lee's proposal came as North Korea denounced upcoming annual US-South Korean military drills and warned of stronger deterrence measures. Pyongyang has also criticised Japan's military build-up in the Pacific and has fired two missiles in as many weeks.

North Korea has repeatedly described itself as an irreversible nuclear state since a 2019 summit between Kim Jong Un and then-US president Donald Trump in Hanoi collapsed over denuclearisation and sanctions relief.

Lee, who took office in Seoul in June 2025, has offered talks with Pyongyang without preconditions. In July, South Korea's unification minister said Seoul had abandoned a campaign prioritising pressure on the North to dismantle its nuclear weapons and was focusing instead on halting the expansion of North Korea's nuclear activities.

North Korea has not responded to Lee's repeated offers and has strengthened military ties with Russia. Analysts say Pyongyang is receiving financial support, food, energy and military technology from Moscow in return for supplying troops and munitions for Russia's war in Ukraine.

Kim is expected to visit Russia later this year, potentially to discuss further weapons supplies to Moscow.

The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea. Colonel Ryan Donald, spokesman for the US and South Korean Combined Forces Command, said North Korea's deployment to the war in Europe had changed the threat his soldiers may face on the Korean peninsula, and that upcoming 11-day joint exercises would account for that threat.