Lee did not specify which agreements he was referring to, but the president said on Friday that Seoul intends to restore a 2018 agreement that has since fallen apart to suspend some military activity along the border with North Korea.

“Relations between South and North Korea are crucial in order to protect the national interests of South Korea and expand the space to operate diplomatically in the face of rapidly changing external conditions,” Lee said during a cabinet meeting on Monday.

“Relevant ministries, please prepare for phased implementation of existing inter-Korean agreements starting from wherever possible.”

Since entering office in June, Lee’s government has sought to improve relations between neighbours still technically at war, though so far top North Korean officials have dismissed in state media overtures taken by the liberal president.