Seoul Says Denuclearization Precondition Would Block Dialogue With North Korea
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young called for a parallel approach to peace, nuclear restraint, diplomatic normalization and economic cooperation, arguing that denuclearization cannot be imposed as the price of opening talks with Pyongyang.
South Korea’s unification minister said Seoul cannot revive dialogue with North Korea if denuclearization is imposed as a precondition, outlining a broader strategy that would pursue nuclear restraint, a peace regime and economic cooperation in parallel.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young made the case Thursday at a ministry-hosted academic forum in Seoul focused on peaceful coexistence with North Korea. He rejected the earlier formula of requiring action by Pyongyang before offering compensation, saying that repeating such an approach would prevent talks from beginning.
Chung’s remarks offer a clear account of how President Lee Jae Myung’s administration wants to address the long-running standoff on the Korean Peninsula. Rather than treating denuclearization as a gateway that North Korea must pass through before other issues can be discussed, the government is proposing simultaneous movement across several connected areas.
The minister described this as a “basket” approach. The elements include formally ending the Korean War, institutionalizing peaceful coexistence, normalizing relations between North Korea and the United States, halting further development of the North’s nuclear program and restoring inter-Korean economic cooperation. Chung said those issues reinforce one another and therefore should move forward together.
He also linked the lack of progress in inter-Korean relations to the peninsula’s unresolved security structure. The 1950-53 Korean War stopped under an armistice rather than a peace treaty, leaving the two Koreas technically at war. Chung said the administration believes the armistice system should be replaced by a peace regime if lasting stability is to be achieved.
The policy places immediate emphasis on stopping additional nuclear advances rather than demanding complete denuclearization before engagement. It also connects progress between the two Koreas to relations between Pyongyang and Washington, acknowledging that the principal security and diplomatic questions cannot be handled through an inter-Korean channel alone.
President Lee, who took office in June 2025, has repeatedly sought to ease tensions and reopen communication with North Korea. In an address marking Liberation Day on Aug. 15, he proposed talks between the two Koreas on formally ending the war and practical measures to halt advances in North Korea’s nuclear program. He also pledged to work toward establishing a peace regime.
Chung’s speech did not announce a new negotiation or indicate that Pyongyang had accepted Seoul’s outreach. It instead set out the sequence and structure the South Korean government believes could make renewed talks possible after an extended diplomatic stalemate.