South Korea says it will step up diplomatic efforts to replace the shaky armistice that ended the Korean War with a permanent peace treaty.

The establishment of a peace treaty with North Korea is party of the Roh Moo-hyun government's security policies as issued by the National Security Council Thursday.

The new policy initiative calls for South and North Korea to sign a peace treaty and later have it endorsed by major powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

A senior Cheong Wa Dae security aide said the government will pursue a peace mechanism while simultaneously trying to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. He said that, in the course of negotiations for a peace treaty, South and North Korea will play leading roles, as befits their direct involvement in the matter.

He said that, to that end, South Korea will strengthen cooperation with the North while trying to create an international environment favorable to inter-Korean reconciliation.

The government also plans to seek the return of a war-time operations command from the United States while strengthening combined security readiness and building a future-oriented alliance with Washington.

The Korean War ended in 1953 with an armistice not a peace treaty leaving the two Koreas still technically at war.