Honor guards carry caskets containing the remains of 147 South Korean soldiers killed during the Korean War, which were returned home by a ROK Air Force KC-330 aerial tanker, during a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the 1950-53 conflict at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. The anniversary event was held to show respect for fallen troops and demonstrate Seoul's commitment to friendly cooperation with the 22 nations that fought alongside it under the United Nations flag against the invading North Korean army. / Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in has again extended an overture to North Korea in an effort to get soured inter-Korean relations back on track for peace talks.

Marking the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, Thursday, Moon also urged North Korea to join efforts to achieve the "long-desired wish of 80 million Koreans" for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

His remarks come after tensions were escalated following the North's resumption of hostile rhetoric and activities toward the South, but subsided temporarily following North Korean leader Kim Jong-un giving an order Wednesday to withhold planned military actions.

"I hope that North Korea will also boldly embark on an endeavor to end the most sorrowful war in world history," Moon said in a speech during a ceremony for fallen heroes of the war at Seoul Air Base.

"I hope that the tragedy of the war suffered by the South, North and all Koreans will be shared by our future generations as a collective memory and become a strength to usher in peace. If we are going to talk about unification, we have to achieve peace first, and only after peace has continued for a long time will we be able to finally see the door to unification.

"Achieving peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula is a duty that must be fulfilled without fail for both the parents who suffered through the War and their posterity who will usher in the next 70 years. It is the long-desired wish of 80 million Koreans."

For this, the South Korean leader underlined the need for the two Koreas to learn to co-exist together, before speaking of unification.

Moon stressed that the era of confrontation is over and that there must not be another war on the Korean Peninsula.