South Korea’s President Lee Jae-myung has unveiled what he calls a “realistic” path to peace on the Korean peninsula, proposing that exchanges and trust-building take precedence while shelving immediate demands for Pyongyang’s denuclearisation.
Analysts say the initiative departs from the long-standing stance shared by Seoul and Washington that North Korea must first embark on denuclearisation in return for exchanges and moves towards diplomatic ties with the United States.
Lee’s proposal came after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un last week responded positively to a recent overture by US President Donald Trump.
Kim said at a speech before the North’s parliament that he could meet Trump again, provided the US were to drop its insistence on denuclearisation, adding he had a “good memory” of the American president.
His remarks followed Trump’s summit with Lee in Washington last month, when Trump expressed hope of meeting the North Korean leader later this year.
At his UN General Assembly speech on Monday, Lee said: “It is time to seek realistic and rational solutions based on a cool-headed perception that denuclearisation cannot be achieved in the short term.”
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