ANKARA

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung ordered preparations Monday for a phased implementation of existing agreements with North Korea, local media reported.

"I ask the relevant ministries to prepare for a phased implementation of existing inter-Korean agreements, starting from wherever possible," Lee said after recently reaffirming his pledge to restore ties and trust with North Korea, including reviving a 2018 military tension reduction pact, Yonhap News Agency reported.

"True security lies in safeguarding peace. What we need now is the courage to steadily take steps to ease tensions while firmly maintaining an ironclad defense posture," he said during a Cabinet meeting.

Lee said that the country under his leadership will respect North Korea's current system and will not pursue any form of unification by "absorption."

South Korea will take "proactive, gradual steps" to restore the 2018 military agreement, which was signed between the two sides to reduce border tensions, he added.

North Korea, in return, last week rejected Seoul's reconciliatory moves, including dismantling propaganda loudspeakers along their shared border.