South Korea's Lee urges Pyongyang to restore dialogue

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Thursday called on ​North Korea to help restore trust and resume dialogue, a day ‌after Seoul and Pyongyang traded barbs over a landmine incident that South Korea's military and the UN Command said amounted to an armistice violation, Reuters reported.

"I hope that ​the North joins us now on the path of restoring trust ​and resuming dialogue, following a long interruption," Lee said in ⁠an address marking the country's Armed Forces Day, adding that his ​administration would "consistently pursue practical measures to reduce military tensions between the two ​Koreas."

The comments came after Seoul's military and the UN Command said North Korea violated the Korean War armistice following a landmine blast last week that wounded three South Korean soldiers in the ​Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim ​Jong Un, rejected the findings in a statement on Wednesday, accused Seoul of fabricating ‌the ⁠results and warned of retaliation.

Lee reaffirmed his goal of securing the transfer of wartime operational control from the United States to South Korea, calling it part of a long-standing push for self-reliant national defense.

In a ​wide-ranging defense reform agenda, Lee ​also said ⁠in his speech that South Korea would build nuclear-powered submarines by the mid-2030s and upgrade missile defense capabilities, including ​AI-based command-and-control systems and high-energy laser interceptors.

He said the ​modernization drive ⁠would also involve expanding AI capabilities, restructuring the military for future warfare and strengthening the country's three-axis defense system for detecting and intercepting missile ⁠threats.

Lee's government ​has sought to reopen dialogue with North ​Korea, but Pyongyang has largely rejected Seoul's overtures while pressing ahead with border fortification work ​along the DMZ.