South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called on North Korea to open formal negotiations to end the Korean War — a conflict that has remained technically active for more than seven decades. Speaking at a Liberation Day ceremony on Saturday marking the 81st anniversary of the Korean peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee urged both sides to "put down our intentions to threaten each other" and begin discussions aimed at replacing the 1953 armistice with a formal peace treaty. He also proposed a "multi-layered security system" to reduce tensions along the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ), the heavily fortified de-facto border dividing the peninsula, and suggested the talks could include "effective measures to halt the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities."

The Korean War began in 1950 when North Korea invaded the South, drawing in the United States and other UN-backed forces, as well as China on the northern side. Fighting ceased in 1953 with an armistice — a ceasefire agreement — but no peace treaty was ever signed, leaving the two states formally at war ever since. North Korea declared itself a nuclear power in 2022 and has repeatedly vowed never to give up its weapons, which it is estimated to possess in the dozens, with analysts suggesting Pyongyang produces 15 to 20 additional warheads each year.

As of Sunday, North Korean state media had made no mention of Lee's proposal. Instead, outlets including the Korean Central News Agency focused on domestic Liberation Day commemorations and loyalty events honouring the country's late leaders. Separately, Kim Jong Un exchanged messages with Russian President Vladimir Putin, reaffirming the two countries' deepening partnership — one that has grown significantly since North Korea began supplying troops and munitions for Russia's war in Ukraine. A Russian naval vessel, the Pallada, docked at the North Korean port of Wonsan over the weekend as part of a goodwill visit tied to the anniversary.

Lee, who took office in June 2025 after his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached following an abortive attempt to impose martial law, has pursued a markedly more conciliatory approach toward Pyongyang. His administration has offered dialogue without preconditions and has shifted focus from demanding full denuclearisation to seeking a freeze on the expansion of the North's nuclear arsenal. North Korea has so far rebuffed these overtures, criticising joint US-South Korean military exercises — an 11-day drill is scheduled to begin Monday — as provocations, and fired a ballistic missile into the sea earlier this week, its 11th suspected test this year.

The broader diplomatic environment remains fraught. Kim Jong Un declared in January 2024 that unification with South Korea was no longer a goal, describing the South as a "primary foe," while Pyongyang has deepened military cooperation with Moscow and is expected to bolster those ties further. Washington maintains approximately 28,500 troops in South Korea, and US military officials have noted that North Korean soldiers' battlefield experience in Ukraine has altered the threat calculus on the peninsula. Whether Lee's latest overture will elicit any response from Pyongyang — which has previously rejected similar gestures — remains to be seen.