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6h ago

Lee Commits to Reviving 2018 Inter-Korean Military Pact to Lower Border Tensions

Seoul halted propaganda broadcasts to set the stage for late-August summits in Tokyo and Washington.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung delivers a speech during a press conference to mark his first 30 days in office at Yeongbingwan of Blue House on July 3, 2025 in Seoul, South Korea. Kim Min-Hee/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo
Foreign Minister Cho Hyun holds a press conference with South Korean media at the foreign ministry in Seoul, on Aug. 14, 2025. (Yonhap)
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Overview

  • In his Liberation Day speech, President Lee Jae Myung pledged to take proactive, gradual steps to restore the Sept. 19, 2018 military agreement that established buffer zones and no-fly areas along the DMZ.
  • He affirmed respect for North Korea’s political system, ruled out unification by absorption and ordered the military to cease border propaganda broadcasts while urging activists to stop balloon launches.
  • Kim Yo-jong dismissed Seoul’s overtures as a “pipe dream” and denied that Pyongyang had dismantled its loudspeakers, leaving reciprocal measures unconfirmed.
  • Lee will visit Tokyo on Aug. 23-24 for a summit with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba under a two-track diplomacy that separates historical grievances from pragmatic cooperation.
  • Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said Seoul expects President Trump’s leadership could break the nuclear-talks stalemate, though progress depends on reciprocal engagement from Pyongyang.