President keeps NK dialogue push amid DMZ mine dispute
President Lee Jae Myung delivers an address during the 78th Armed Forces Day ceremony at Gyeryongdae in Gyeryong, South Chungcheong Province, Thursday. Yonhap
Armed Forces Day address calls for reduced tensions with OPCON transfer
President Lee Jae Myung pledged Thursday to continue taking practical steps to reduce military tensions with North Korea and urged Pyongyang to join efforts to restore dialogue.
The message, delivered in his Armed Forces Day address, signaled that Lee intends to keep his engagement policy intact despite renewed friction over the latest land mine incident in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
“The knots in inter-Korean relations are extremely complex, but we will steadily, patiently strive to untie them, one by one,” Lee said during a ceremony marking the 78th Armed Forces Day at Gyeryongdae, the military headquarters in South Chungcheong Province.
“I hope that the North joins us now on the path of restoring trust and resuming dialogue, following a long interruption,” he added.
The president went onto say that Seoul would “consistently pursue practical measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas,” stressing that the surest form of security is creating peace that makes fighting unnecessary.
Lee’s remarks came a day after the South Korean military formally blamed North Korean mines for a Sept. 21 explosion in the DMZ, which injured three South Korean service members, and demanded an apology and responsible measures from Pyongyang.
The U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded that North Korean mines were involved and said the incident constituted an armistice violation.
North Korea has denied responsibility, calling the incident a fabrication and warning of retaliation if South Korean forces attack North Korean troops conducting fortification work near the border.
Lee referred to the blast only as an “unfortunate accident” in his speech and focused on wishing the injured service members a speedy recovery, without directly blaming Pyongyang.
The message appeared intended to underscore Lee’s determination to prevent individual military incidents from dictating his broader North Korea policy, even as the latest dispute puts that approach under renewed pressure.
Meanwhile, the president paired his conciliatory message toward Pyongyang with an emphasis on strengthening South Korea’s military autonomy.
Calling self-reliant defense “sovereignty itself,” Lee renewed his commitment to regaining wartime operational control of South Korean forces.
“Going forward, we will work together with the people to fulfill this half century-old aspiration by transferring wartime operational control (OPCON),” Lee said.
The issue was discussed during Lee’s Sept. 22 summit with U.S. Donald Trump in New York, reportedly the first time the two leaders addressed the envisioned OPCON transfer at the summit level.
Lee also pressed ahead with another contentious military reform — creating a unified Republic of Korea Armed Forces Academy by integrating the Army, Navy and Air Force academies.
“I urge all stakeholders to remain open to a broad range of views, build consensus throughout the military and move swiftly and boldly to establish the Republic of Korea Armed Forces Academy,” he said.
The plan has faced strong resistance from academy alumni and cadets, with an August public hearing disrupted by heated protests. The Defense Ministry is expected to unveil a detailed integration plan in October.