South Korea's Lee orders partial phased implementation of existing North Korea pacts

FILE PHOTO: South Korean President Lee Jae Myung speaks during a ceremony to celebrate the 80th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule, in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Aug. 15, 2025. Ahn Young-joon/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, who has been seeking to improve strained relations with Pyongyang, ordered on Monday his cabinet to prepare a partial step-by-step implementation of existing agreements with North Korea.

Lee did not specify which agreements he was referring to, but the president said on Friday that Seoul intends to restore a 2018 agreement that has since fallen apart to suspend some military activity along the border with North Korea.