Photo : YONHAP News
The Ministry of Unification has underscored the need to stop using confrontational, hate-driven rhetoric toward North Korea to promote diplomacy and peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Wednesday proposed such efforts as he briefed President Lee Jae Myung on the ministry’s key policy tasks for the second half of the year.
Chung outlined three main objectives: building mutual respect and reciprocal cooperation, peaceful conflict resolution and crisis management, and promotion of a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and peace in Northeast Asia.
In particular, the ministry proposed the idea of replacing terms like “main enemy” when referring to North Korea and instead using the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to build mutual trust.
Among other plans, the ministry said it will continue to promote discussions on the peaceful coexistence framework that rejects unification by absorption, and proactively pursue measures to ease tensions, including restoring the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement and the peaceful use of the Demilitarized Zone(DMZ).
Efforts will also focus on securing momentum for a proposed four-way peace dialogue involving South Korea, North Korea, the United States, and China, as well as a U.S.-North Korea summit.
Practical measures to establish a foundation for inter-Korean exchanges were also mapped out, including a plan to restart construction next year on the South Korean section of the Gyeongwon Line, connecting Seoul and Wonsan in the North.
The ministry said it will also actively support the resumption of civilian exchanges such as providing support for inter-Korean cheering squads at the 2026 Asian Games to be held in Japan this September.