Arya News - President Lee underscored that peace on the Korean Peninsula will bolster security and cooperation in Northeast Asia and mark a milestone on the path toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.
SEOUL – South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has called for peaceful coexistence with North Korea while emphasizing the administration’s intention to continue broaden cooperating with Japan.
“I hope the South and the North can sit down together to pursue peaceful coexistence and shared growth. Rather than a concession, this would mark the start of coexistence,” said Lee in his commemorative speech during the 81th anniversary of Liberation Day at the Sejong Center in Seoul on Saturday.
“We will embark on a journey to end war and transform the Korean Peninsula’s unstable armistice into a peace regime. Let’s drop all intentions of threatening one another and initiate dialogue among directly concerned parties in order to conclude this long war. Through such dialogue, we can also devise effective ways to curb advances in the North’s nuclear capabilities.”
Noting that the administration will work to transform hostility and confrontation into the driving force for peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity, Lee underlined that peace on the Korean Peninsula will bolster security and cooperation in Northeast Asia and mark a milestone on the path toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.
“Peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula is a duty, not a choice,” he said. “As such, we cannot take on greater responsibilities and roles on the global stage without developing a forward-looking relationship with our eastern neighbor, which shares our backyard.”
Lee mentioned how Korea and Japan have built a foundation of trust over the past year as Seoul and Tokyo broadened cooperation in supply chains, energy and advanced industries as well as basis for exchanges between younger people.
“Guided by pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests, my administration will continue to broaden the horizons of cooperation in pursuit of our shared interests and pool our collective wisdom to resolve common challenges,” he said.
“Above all, consolidating our past achievements requires solid trust between the peoples of our two nations. Trust is formed through mutual empathy and a sincere recognition of one another’s pain. To this day, victims and bereaved families are still living with the wounds and pain of the past.”
Calling Korea-Japan cooperation “more important than ever,” Lee emphasized that the new bilateral relationship the two countries are building must warmly illuminate those who are still suffering from pain in the shadows of history.
The president underscored the administration’s willingness to honor independence activists while going after anti-national collaborators.
“Having promulgated on the Special Act on Asset Confiscation for Pro Japanese and Anti-National Collaborators to the State on June 2, we will investigate and recover assets illicitly accumulated by pro-Japanese, anti-national collaborators and hold them fully accountable before history,” said Lee.
“In addition, we will take a more responsible approach to managing the state confiscated assets of pro-Japanese collaborators, ensuring that all proceeds go toward honoring and supporting decorated independence activists and surviving family members.”
He also called for unity among the Korean people, urging the need to break down internal obstacles.
“Differences must not engender hostility, nor should hatred, exclusion or conflict be allowed to hinder the nation’s progress,” said Lee.
“In the face of international competition, which is reshaping the global economy, we must all work together – the people and the government, the central and local governments, and businesses and workers. No matter how different our thoughts and interests may be, the country we and future generations will live in is one. We all share the aspiration to pass down a better country.”
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