President Lee: "We Will Steadfastly Pursue Korean Peninsula Peace Policy... Hope for North's Response"

President Lee Jae-myung stated on April 27, "Our government will steadfastly pursue the policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."

President Lee made this announcement through a speech delivered by Hong Ik-pyo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, at the ceremony commemorating the 8th anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration held at the National Assembly on this day. President Lee said, "To restore trust between the two Koreas and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, we will proactively take the initiatives that we can," adding, "We hope that the North will also trust in our government's sincerity and respond positively."

President Lee Jae-myung is speaking at the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum held at a hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on the 23rd (local time). April 23, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

President Lee recalled, "On this day eight years ago, spring was in full bloom on the Korean Peninsula. Through the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration, the two leaders of the Koreas presented to the world a vision of a hopeful future the two Koreas should pursue together. There was a sense of great expectation that, after years of discord and conflict, a new era of peace and prosperity would finally dawn on the Korean Peninsula."

However, President Lee pointed out, "Regrettably, that promise was not kept. The future of peace and prosperity has yet to arrive, and the two Koreas remain separated by a cold and towering wall as 'hostile states.'"

Nevertheless, President Lee emphasized, "It is the destiny of both Koreas to make the flower of peace blossom on this land of division and hostility." He continued, "Ending the war, establishing a permanent peace regime, and achieving coexistence and prosperity between the two Koreas are the core tenets of the Panmunjom Declaration and our inevitable future. We must ensure that the uncertainties and anxieties in the international order, caused by the war in the Middle East, do not spill over onto the Korean Peninsula, and that all people on the Peninsula can live without the fear of war."

President Lee went on to say, "Since its inception, the government of popular sovereignty has made the peaceful coexistence of the Korean Peninsula its top policy priority. We have made it clear that we respect the North's system, do not seek unification by absorption, and will not engage in any acts of hostility." He added, "Based on these goals and principles, in early February, the government proposed the policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, under which the two Koreas can coexist peacefully and grow together."

President Lee concluded his congratulatory address by saying, "No matter how long the winter, spring will eventually come. If we diligently pile up our efforts toward peaceful coexistence and shared growth, just as a mountain is built by stacking earth upon earth (Jeokto Seongsan), I firmly believe that a true spring will return again to the Korean Peninsula."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.