Lee vows patience on inter-Korean ties at Armed Forces Day ceremony

President Lee Jae Myung said Thursday that the two Koreas must find "a path to mutual victory" and build trust to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Speaking at the 78th Armed Forces Day ceremony at Gyeryong in South Chungcheong Province, Lee said he "expects and urges" the North to join efforts to restore trust and resume severed dialogue.

"Trust is not built by words alone. It accumulates, little by little, only when words and actions align," Lee said. "Our government will consistently pursue practical measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas. The knot of inter-Korean relations is tangled in complexity, but we will continue to untie it step by step, with patience."

Lee also extended his sympathies to troops wounded in a recent explosion in the Demilitarized Zone.

"My heart is still heavy when I think of the soldiers injured in the unexpected accident in the DMZ not long ago," he said. "It reminds me again that the ordinary days we enjoy rest on someone else's danger." He added that he wished the injured a swift recovery and conveyed his condolences to their families.

The remarks drew attention for their emphasis on "restoring trust" and "resuming dialogue" at a time when the landmine explosion has heightened military tensions and raised the overall level of strain on the peninsula. Rather than issuing a direct warning to North Korea over the escalation, Lee focused on rebuilding inter-Korean trust and reopening channels of communication.

Lee had refrained from directly naming North Korea at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday and during a visit to console the wounded troops on Wednesday, and he maintained the same approach in his Armed Forces Day address.

Lee also reaffirmed his commitment to self-reliant national defense, saying the goal "has never been the task of any single administration" and citing the defense policies of former presidents Park Chung-hee and Roh Moo-hyun.

"We have come this far carrying the dream of self-reliant defense that has been passed down through the generations," he said, adding that "self-reliant defense is sovereignty itself."

He added that his government would "put the finishing touch on that dream by transferring wartime operational control, and will fulfill together with the people a dream that has continued for half a century."

Lee also pledged to improve conditions for service members. "A strong national defense does not come from weapons alone," he said. "Your morale is national defense." He promised to build a military "where soldiers can say that serving was a proud choice."

Lee called on the military to uphold political neutrality and loyalty to the people in connection with the Dec. 3 emergency martial law crisis.

"We will establish a culture and system that allows our military to focus solely on its core mission, so that an illegal insurrection by the military never happens again," he said. He also urged the swift and bold pursuit of establishing a unified military academy, saying he had gathered various opinions and consolidated views within the armed forces.

The ceremony, held under the slogan "Realizing self-reliant defense! An irreplaceable military," drew more than 3,600 guests, invited dignitaries, service members, their families and civilian observers.