Kim Jun-hyung: "Government Should Take One Step Further After Interpreting US Approval"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Kim Jun-hyung, President of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, stated on the 24th regarding the North Korea strategy following the South Korea-US summit, "It is necessary to interpret that the US has approved our past North Korea policy and to take a half step and one step further to block North Korea."

On the same day, at a discussion during the International Security Academic Conference jointly hosted by the Security Studies Institute of the Korea National Defense University and the National Security Strategy Institute at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, Kim said, "It is necessary to broadly interpret the US's declaration supporting inter-Korean dialogue, engagement, and cooperation."

Kim referred to US Secretary of State Tony Blinken's interview with the media where he said, "The ball is in North Korea's court," and emphasized, "I think we need to take that ball back," adding, "South Korea has the task of playing an active role."

Lee Jong-seok, former Minister of Unification, expressed regret during the discussion that there was no incentive to resume denuclearization negotiations with North Korea at this South Korea-US summit.

He said, "There was nothing like a signal for easing sanctions that could serve as a breakthrough to break the deadlock," and added, "This is a task for the subsequent South Korean government and US diplomacy."

He further stated, "The path we can take is to develop multilateral cooperation, including South Korea-US alliance and South Korea-China cooperation, in parallel," and added, "It is foolish and should not be the case to choose between the South Korea-US alliance and South Korea-China cooperation."

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Seo Wook said in his congratulatory speech, "The military will support the diplomatic efforts of the two governments for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace based on the strong South Korea-US alliance."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.