South Korean Presidential Candidate Lee Jae-myung Will Restore Seoul-North Korea Communications

JAKARTA - South Korean presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung will seek restoration of communication between Seoul and North Korea, including through military telephone lines if elected.

South Korea and North Korea have previously communicated using telephone lines, but Pyongyang has stopped responding since 2023 amid the deteriorating relations between the two neighboring countries.

Lee, the leading candidate in a poll for the general election on June 3, also said he would "hold stable" the relationship with China, which he said had reached "worst conditions" under the previous administration.

Reported by Reuters on Monday, May 26, Lee promised to develop the US-South Korea relationship into a comprehensive strategic alliance and respond in principle to historical and territorial issues related to Japan while strengthening cooperation between South Korea, the US and Japan.

Kim Moon-soo's adviser, Lee's main competitor in conservative elections, said Lee's proposal had many similarities with Kim's promise to strengthen the alliance with Washington and remain open to dialogue with Pyongyang.

However, Kim Gunn, a former nuclear envoy and one of Kim's foreign policy advisers, criticized Lee for changing his policy direction in what he saw as an attempt by the candidate to attract more moderate voters.

Another adviser, Kim Hyungsuk, former deputy minister of unification, also said Lee's promise not to address North Korea's serious nuclear threat but only sought to get back involved with the isolated country.

"So I think about the promise made by Mr. Lee, we have to see if he can make it happen," said Kim Gunn.