ISTANBUL

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung Tuesday acknowledged denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was not possible in the short term, amid North Korea's "irreversible" path of achieving a nuclear arsenal.

Addressing the 80th UN General Assembly session in New York, Lee, however, stressed Seoul wants an end to the "vicious cycle" of hostility with Pyongyang as well as inter-Korean military tensions.

"It is time to seek realistic and rational solutions based on a cool-headed perception that denuclearization cannot be achieved in the short term," Lee said, adding that the international community must gather its wisdom in "a pragmatic and phased solution," including ceasing the sophistication of nuclear and missile capabilities, reducing and reaching dismantlement.

Pyongyang has stated that any talks with the international community will take place only after North Korea is acknowledged as a nuclear power.

Notably, US President Donald Trump, who held three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during his first term, did not mention Pyongyang in his address to the General Assembly.

"Realizing lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula would present new hope and possibilities to humanity suffering from conflict," said Lee, whose administration has dismantled propaganda infrastructure along the border with North Korea as well as halted flying anti-Pyongyang leaflets.

"Peace is not merely the absence of armed conflict," but the creation of a society where differences are respected and people can coexist, said Lee.

The most certain peace is a state where there is no need to fight, but "comprehensive dialogue centered on exchange, normalization and denuclearization" takes place, Lee said, dubbing his policy on North Korea as "END."

Lee said Seoul is helping to pave the way for "sustainable peace" under UN leadership, noting that both physical and non-physical threats challenge peace in an era where artificial intelligence is critical to security and cyberattacks endanger national stability.

"We must confront not only visible enemies, but also invisible enemies. If we passively let ourselves be dragged along by the changes of the AI era, we will meet a dystopia of deepening polarization and inequality, unable to shake off the dark shadows of human rights abuses caused by the misuse of technology," he said.

However, Lee added, if proactive actions are taken, a foundation for innovation and prosperity can be built, and democracy can be strengthened.

​​​​​​​The Korean Peninsula has been divided since the inter-Korean War of the 1950s, which ended in an armistice, not a ceasefire, which technically keeps the divided Koreas at war.