South Korea vows continued efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue

South Korea on Sunday vowed to continue efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue with Pyongyang and seek peaceful coexistence, local media reported.

Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said Seoul will strive to lay the groundwork for the resumption of the long-stalled dialogue, Yonhap News reported.

"Efforts will be made to open the door for dialogue between South Korea and North Korea and to hold talks on peace and joint prosperity," Han said.

Calling inter-Korean division a "reality," the premier highlighted that the pain of displaced residents and separated families is "ongoing."

"Our efforts to open the road to peaceful coexistence of South Korea and North Korea cannot stop," she further said.

The two longtime rivals signed the landmark Panmunjom Declaration in April 2018 at the truce village of Panmunjom.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce rather than a peace treaty.

Since taking office in June 2025, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has shifted policy from that of his predecessor Yoon Suk Yeol, halting anti-North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts and imposing a ban on activists flying anti-Pyongyang balloons into North Korean territory, among other measures aimed at restoring channels of communication between the two sides, which have remained suspended since the Yoon era.