SEOUL – Republic of Korea President Lee Jae-myung has stressed the need for dialogue efforts with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) citing the highly perilous situation on the Korean Peninsula, according to Yonhap news agency.

"(The peninsula) is in a very dangerous situation where accidental clashes could occur at any moment," Lee said at a press conference aboard his flight from Johannesburg to Ankara on Sunday (local time) as part of his four-nation trip to Africa and the Middle East.

Lee emphasized that Seoul should continue efforts with patience to resume dialogue with the DPRK, saying relations between the two Koreas became highly hostile and confrontational even without basic trust.

Lee pointed out that there was no way to resolve any accidental clashes as all communication channels were severed.

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Asked whether ROK could consider scaling down its joint military exercises with the United States to bring the DPRK to a dialogue table, Lee said it would be desirable not to conduct the exercises if a peace regime is firmly established between the two Koreas.