South Korea proposes talks to officially end war with North

What the report says

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has proposed talks with North Korea aimed at formally ending the long-frozen war on the Korean peninsula, according to BBC World News. Speaking at a Liberation Day ceremony, Lee called for the two sides to begin discussions as the directly involved parties and said he wanted a framework that could reduce military tensions along the demilitarised zone and support peaceful coexistence.

The BBC reports that Lee also raised the possibility of discussing practical steps to curb North Korea’s nuclear ambitions. He suggested a broader security arrangement to prevent clashes on the border, where both sides have long accused each other of provocations. The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1953 armistice ended fighting but did not produce a peace treaty.

Lee, who took office last year after the impeachment of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, has been seeking to improve ties with both North Korea and China. His outreach comes against a backdrop of continued friction: North Korea has kept developing missiles and nuclear weapons, and the BBC notes that Pyongyang launched a ballistic missile into the sea this week, days before scheduled joint US-South Korean military exercises. North Korea has not publicly responded to Lee’s latest proposal.