South Korea’s Unification minister highlights peaceful, gradual approach in North Korea policy
Seoul, Nov 26 (LatestNewsX) – South Korea’s Unification Minister, Chung Dong‑young, told a gathering on Wednesday that the government will pursue its North‑Korea strategy in a calm, step‑by‑step fashion. He brushed aside worries that the administration of liberal President Lee Jae Myung could adopt a hard‑line stance toward Pyongyang.
The comments came during Chung’s meeting with Kim Jong‑hyuk, president of the United Christian Churches of Korea, a coalition of Protestant churches in the south. “We could not imagine (taking) shocking or radical methods (in terms of North Korea policy),” Chung said. He noted that the concern among church leaders was that the president’s liberal agenda might be too soft on the North, a point highlighted by Yonhap News Agency.
The minister emphasized that “even a good idea cannot be realised if there is no public support.” “A radical policy cannot help but invite public animosity,” he added, underscoring that the government has inherited three guiding principles from previous liberal administrations: peaceful, phased, and gradual engagement with North Korea.
Lee has pledged to renew dialogue and reconciliation with Pyongyang since taking office in June. In a separate development, the defence ministry last week floated the idea of military talks aimed at clarifying the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) to reduce accidental clashes along the border. However, Pyongyang has not yet responded.
On Nov 20, the ruling Democratic Party (DP) called on North Korea to accept the proposal for MDL talks, stressing that it would be the first official offer for inter‑Korean communication since President Lee’s inauguration. DP speaker Kim Byung‑kee said at the National Assembly that the meeting would help prevent unintended skirmishes and ease tensions. He also noted that North Korea had recently criticized the South Korea‑US summit, but he declined to react to each claim, saying the North could voice its concerns during the talks.
Since April, Pyongyang has positioned troops near the MDL to lay mines, erect anti‑tank barriers, and strengthen barbed‑wire fencing, following Kim Jong‑un’s description of inter‑Korean relations as those between “two states hostile to each other” in late 2023. North Korean forces have crossed the MDL roughly ten times this year, including an incident in October when two soldiers briefly crossed into South Korea to chase a defector. In response, the South Korean military has issued warning notices and fired warning shots when the border is breached, according to Yonhap.
If the talks go ahead, they would represent the first inter‑Korean military dialogue since the 2018 negotiations, adding to the two ministerial and about forty working‑level meetings that have taken place since 2000.
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