South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for talks with North Korea to secure peaceful coexistence and formally end the Korean War. In a Saturday speech marking Korea’s independence anniversary from Japanese colonial rule, Lee said the armistice on the Korean Peninsula should be replaced with a “peace system.” He said Seoul would take necessary security measures to avoid conflict.

Lee urged dialogue among North Korea and relevant parties to achieve a formal end to the 1950-53 war. He said talks could also examine effective steps to limit North Korea’s nuclear capabilities. Seoul would take proactive and sustained measures to reduce tensions and prevent conflict from spreading, he said, including building multilayered security arrangements.

The war was halted by an armistice agreement on July 27, 1953, but no formal peace treaty has been signed between the two Koreas. North Korea rejected Lee’s dialogue proposal, criticized South Korea’s plan to build nuclear-powered submarines, and condemned joint US-South Korean military drills as provocative. A roughly 160-mile demilitarized zone separates the countries, where both sides have deployed large numbers of troops.