South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is calling on North Korea to end its nuclear program.
Mr.Lee made his comments in a speech Saturday marking the anniversary ofthe Korean peninsula's liberation from Japanese rule in 1945. He saidnuclear weapons do not guarantee the North's security, but only makethe future more difficult.
He also said both Koreas should work on reducing conventional weapons.
Mr. Lee added that if Pyongyang gives up its nuclear program, South Korea will offer it new economic help.
NorthKorea faces increasing pressure to return to six-party talks on endingits nuclear program. The U.S. and four other nations - China, Japan,Russia, and South Korea - want North Korea back at the bargainingtable.
Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test in May.
Northand South Korea have remained technically at war since 1953, when theKorean War ended in an armistice that has never been replaced with apeace treaty.