SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said he intended to stick to existing agreements with Japan tied to its colonial rule of the Korean peninsula, including one on the treatment of Korean women forced to work in its military brothels.

Since taking office in a snap election in June, the liberal Lee has taken steps to lower tensions with the nuclear-armed North, and the issue is one where he is expected to find common ground with Trump, who still boasts of his historic summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

President Lee Jae-myung's peace feelers come as Pyongyang slams Seoul's 'provocation' over an annual US-South Korean military exercise South Korean President Lee Jae-myung's attempt at engagement with the North by unilaterally reviving some inter-Korean agreements despite Pyongyang's persistent hostility is a long-term reconciliation strategy,