North and South Korea have been technically at war ever since the 1950-1953 Korean War and have yet to replace the armistice that ended the conflict with a proper peace treaty.

"The two leaders agreed that reducing the military threat on the Korean Peninsula and moving from the current armistice mechanism to a peace mechanism would contribute to full reconciliation and peaceful reunification on the Korean Peninsula," said a joint statement from Bush and Roh after their summit here.

Calls for a formal peace treaty have been made before by both North and South Korea. Bush and Roh said Thursday that eventual treaty talks should take place "in a forum separate from the six-party (nuclear) talks".

Their joint statement was issued after the two leaders met ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in the South Korean port city of Busan.

Ahead of the fourth round of six-party talks which began in July, North Korea suggested that Washington and Pyongyang should replace the armistice with a peace mechanism.

A peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula would lead to an end to hostility between the two sides, which would in turn "automatically result in the denuclearization of the peninsula," it said.

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