South Korea urges its northern neighbor to resume dialogue

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South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on North Korea on Thursday to return to dialogue, the day after a recent explosion occurred in the demilitarized zone, seriously wounding three South Korean soldiers.

Seoul and Pyongyang are still technically at war, as the Korean War (1950-1953) ended with the signing of an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty.

On Wednesday, South Korea held its North neighbor responsible for the explosion that occurred on September 21 inside the demilitarized zone and seriously injured three South Korean soldiers, demanding that Pyongyang issue an apology.

Kim Yo Jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, responded by saying that accusing her country of responsibility for the two explosions "stoops to a low and dirty level befitting the followers of the Republic of Korea."

But on Thursday, Lee called on Pyongyang to resume dialogue.

“I hope that North Korea will join us now on the path to restoring confidence and resuming dialogue, after a long interruption,” he said in a speech he delivered on the occasion of the country’s Armed Forces Day.

On Wednesday, the South Korean army considered that the incident “represents a clear violation of the armistice agreement and undermines the spirit of the existing agreements between the two Koreas.”

Lee's government has sought to reopen dialogue with North Korea, but Pyongyang has largely rejected Seoul's overtures and continued to press ahead with border fortification activities along the demilitarized zone.