South Korea Eyes Restoring 2018 Military Pact with North Korea

South Korea’s new liberal president, Lee Jae-myung, has signaled a renewed willingness to rebind the fragile security architecture on the Korean peninsula by seeking to restore the 2018 September 19 Military Agreement with North Korea. In a speech delivered on the 80th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, Lee urged Pyongyang to respond to Seoul’s efforts to rebuild trust and revive dialogue, framing the move as a gradual, defensive step to prevent accidental clashes and reduce border tensions. He stressed that Seoul respects the North’s system and that the South will not pursue unification by absorption or engage in hostile acts, while reaffirming Seoul’s commitment to denuclearization through international and inter-Korean channels.

The 2018 agreement, forged during a brief flurry of diplomacy between Kim Jong Un and then-South Korean president Moon Jae-in, established buffer zones on land and sea and no-fly zones above the border to reduce the risk of clashes. Its erosion began when Seoul’s conservative government suspended the pact in 2024 in response to North Korea’s balloon launches toward the South and a resumption of frontline propaganda campaigns. North...