SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- Ruling Democratic Party (DP) leader Kim Min-seok said Friday his party will support President Lee Jae Myung's efforts to facilitate dialogue between the United States and North Korea.

Kim's remarks came after a key military exercise between Seoul and Washington was scaled back following U.S. President Donald Trump's order, a move widely seen as a conciliatory gesture toward the North Korean leader.

"As the positions of the United States, China and North Korea are going through complex changes, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is changing in various ways," he said during a meeting of the party's supreme council.

"We will immediately push ahead with party-to-party diplomacy by visiting the U.S, China and Japan by the end of this year as the U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for November," he added.

South Korea and the U.S. were set to wrap up the Ulchi Freedom Shield exercise Friday, nearly a week ahead of its original schedule.

North Korea, however, has shrugged off the sharp reduction, saying it does not change the aggressive nature of the exercise.

President Lee has said he respects Trump's push to create the conditions for dialogue with the North, vowing to do his best to fulfill his role as a "pacemaker" by supporting Trump's efforts as a "peacemaker."

julesyi@yna.co.kr

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