Seoul Seeks Four-Way Peace Talks Around Potential Trump-Kim Summit
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young says Seoul wants any renewed US-North Korea summit to lead to talks involving both Koreas, the United States and China on replacing the armistice with a permanent peace framework.
South Korea wants a potential summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to develop into four-party negotiations on a permanent peace framework for the Korean Peninsula, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday.
Speaking at the Herald Global Business Forum in Seoul, Chung said the government’s strategic objective was to connect renewed Washington-Pyongyang dialogue with talks involving South Korea and China. The broader discussions would seek to replace the armistice arrangement that has governed the peninsula since the 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty.
The proposal comes amid speculation that Trump could meet Kim during the US president’s planned visit to China for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Shenzhen on Nov. 18-19. No such meeting has been confirmed.
Chung described the current armistice system as an inherently fragile basis for stability and argued that fresh dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang could break the diplomatic deadlock. North Korea has rejected direct engagement with Seoul after defining the two Koreas as hostile states.
Under the framework outlined by Chung, the two Koreas, the United States and China could discuss a peace agreement, improved US-North Korea relations, limits on further development of North Korea’s nuclear capabilities and expanded economic cooperation. His remarks set out Seoul’s desired diplomatic direction rather than an agreed negotiating agenda among the four parties.
The minister also called for a gradual restoration of inter-Korean exchanges. He described freer movement of people and goods across the border as a form of “de facto unification,” saying practical integration should take priority over an immediate push for political or legal reunification. He cited Germany’s experience to argue that sustained contact can help establish conditions for longer-term change.
Chung said renewed exchanges were especially urgent for families separated by the Korean War, many of whose members are elderly and do not know whether relatives in North Korea remain alive.
He also reiterated his goal of reopening the Kaesong Industrial Complex, which has been closed since 2016. Chung acknowledged that deteriorating political and security conditions have made that objective harder to achieve.
Beyond diplomacy and humanitarian issues, Chung argued that reducing security risks could create economic opportunities. He said cooperation combining South Korean capital and technology with North Korean labor and natural resources could support the South’s longer-term growth potential.
The forum lecture presented an expansive vision for engagement, but its implementation would depend on renewed US-North Korea talks and participation by Pyongyang and Beijing, neither of which has committed to the proposed four-way process.