SEOUL – The Republic of Korea's President Lee Jae-myung on Saturday called on the ROK and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to respect each other, refrain from unnecessary confrontation and pursue peaceful coexistence and mutual growth.

In his address marking the 81st anniversary of the Korean Peninsula's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, Lee called for dialogue among the directly concerned parties to officially end the Korean War and transform the Korean Peninsula's unstable armistice into a peace regime.