Lee Proposes Talks with North Korea

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called for talks with North Korea to pursue peaceful coexistence and replace the peninsula’s armistice with a “peace regime.” In a speech marking the anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese colonial rule on August 15, Lee urged dialogue between North Korea and concerned parties to end the 1950-53 Korean War. He proposed measures to curb Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities.

Lee pledged that Seoul would take preemptive steps to ease tensions and build safeguards against escalation. His call builds on his previous pledge to respect North Korea's system and seek peaceful coexistence. However, ties between the two Koreas remain frozen, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un describing South Korea as its most hostile state.

The debate over amending South Korea's Constitution has resurfaced after National Assembly Speaker Cho Jung-sik raised the possibility of allowing a sitting president to seek another term. President Lee Jae Myung expressed openness to shortening his current term to facilitate constitutional revision, sparking mixed reactions from the opposition People Power Party.

The ruling Democratic Party is taking a cautious approach while the opposition remains divided between those willing to participate in discussions and others who warn of potential political implications. Any constitutional amendment requires approval from at least two-thirds of all National Assembly members, necessitating cooperation from the People Power Party.

Meanwhile, South Korea's main opposition People Power Party urged newly elected Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok to prioritize public interests over shielding President Lee Jae Myung. The opposition criticized the ruling party for using its parliamentary majority to push legislation through without seeking bipartisan cooperation and accused Lee of intervening in the party leadership contest.

President Lee also called on Tuesday for stronger independent defense capabilities, while asserting that annual civil-defence exercises coinciding with joint U.S.-South Korea military drills were defensive and not intended to threaten North Korea. He emphasized that these exercises are aimed at safeguarding South Koreans' lives and safety, rather than targeting any particular party as an enemy.

Lee stated that Seoul should proceed without disruption with the planned transfer of wartime operational control from the United States during his term, in line with the government's existing plan. He described the U.S.-South Korea alliance and independent defense as mutually reinforcing, calling for faster progress on South Korea's nuclear-powered submarine program and developing officers capable of integrated operations for future conflicts.

On Sunday night, Donald Trump instructed the Pentagon to 'substantially reduce' this week’s joint military exercises with South Korea. The now-curtailed drills were meant to help certify South Korea’s readiness to take over wartime operational control (Opcon), a process Lee has pushed to accelerate since taking office.

According to The Guardian, at their first summit in August last year, President Lee told Donald Trump: “If you, Mr President, become the peacemaker, then I will assist you as the pacemaker.” This remark captured Lee’s approach to North Korea: dial down military posturing and make repeated peace overtures to revive dialogue. However, these overtures have been consistently rejected by Pyongyang largely over Seoul’s insistence on denuclearisation.

The Guardian also reported that Trump's move to cut joint military exercises with South Korea echoes what Lee had pledged to achieve during his term in office as a possible tool for reviving dialogue with Pyongyang. However, the reduction of joint drills has long been advocated by some on the Korean left, making the decision imposed by a right-wing US president awkward for both sides.

The opposition conservative People Power party has called the decision a “security disaster” and warned of a return to “Korea passing,” a term used when Seoul feels sidelined in matters directly affecting it. Conservative newspapers have been almost unanimous in calling the cut reckless, with some blaming Lee’s government directly for inviting it.

The left has not shared that sense of alarm. Hankyoreh, one of the country’s main progressive papers, raised no objection to the substance of Trump’s decision but criticized how it was delivered: unilaterally and disrespectfully on social media. Kyunghyang Shinmun took a more positive view, saying the cut could help create an atmosphere for dialogue with North Korea.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi will visit South Korea starting Wednesday for a two-day trip, according to the foreign ministry. Wang Yi and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun will hold in-depth talks on bilateral relations, the Korean Peninsula situation, regional, and international issues. President Lee Jae Myung is expected to convey his greetings to Chinese President Xi Jinping during the meeting.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is expected to nominate a special inspector Monday, potentially reviving an independent presidential oversight post that has remained vacant for nearly 10 years. If the nominee clears a National Assembly confirmation hearing and is formally appointed, the office would be filled for the first time since the resignation of its inaugural inspector, Lee Seok-su, in September 2016.

The presidential office said Sunday that Lee was reviewing three candidates recommended by the National Assembly. The ruling Democratic Party recommended attorney Choi Gil-soo, the opposition People Power Party recommended attorney Kang Ji-sik and the Korean Bar Association recommended attorney Choi Yong-hoon. The National Assembly approved the three recommendations during a plenary session Thursday.

Under the Special Inspector Act, the president must select one of the three within three days of receiving the National Assembly's recommendation. The nominee then undergoes a parliamentary confirmation hearing before being appointed by the president. A presidential official said Lee is expected to make the selection Monday because that is the deadline for the nomination.

The special inspector is an independent official responsible for monitoring possible misconduct involving the president's spouse, relatives within the fourth degree of kinship and senior presidential secretaries. The system was introduced during the Park Geun-hye administration as a mechanism to oversee potential corruption involving people close to the president.

Lee Seok-su, the first person to hold the post, resigned in 2016 and his resignation was formally accepted on Sept. 23 of that year. No successor was appointed, leaving the position vacant for nearly a decade. President Lee has repeatedly called for the position to be filled since taking office.

He asked the National Assembly to begin the recommendation process during his first presidential news conference after taking office and again called for the appointment process to move forward in April. The expected nomination comes as Lee intensifies an anti-corruption campaign during the second year of his administration.