South Korean President Lee Myung-bak proposed a three-stage reunification with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), and called for developing new relationship with Japan. Lee made the remarks at the celebration of the country's 65th anniversary of Korea's independence from Japan's colonial rule. Lee said that the current inter-Korean ties demand a new paradigm, and it is imperative that the two sides choose coexistence instead of confrontation, progress instead of stagnation. He proposed that Seoul and Pyongyang should build an inter-Korean peace community first to assure security and harmony on the Korean Peninsula, then work for an economic community for a comprehensive exchange and mutual prosperity. On Seoul's relations with Tokyo, Lee positively assessed Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan's apology for Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula earlier this week, calling it a step forward.