Lee In-young: "This Second Half of the Year is Very Important... North Korea Must Come to Negotiation Table with a Flexible Attitude"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Minister of Unification Lee In-young urged North Korea to come to the negotiation table with a flexible attitude, warning that if South Korea, North Korea, and the United States fail to create new changes in the second half of this year, the momentum of the Korean Peninsula peace process could weaken.

In his keynote speech at the '2021 Korean Political World Academic Conference' held at Korea University in Seongbuk-gu on the 18th, Minister Lee said, "The second half of this year is very important as the starting point of the 'process' to produce meaningful and sustainable peace."

He emphasized, "If substantive dialogue between South and North Korea resumes soon, the 30th anniversary of simultaneous UN membership of South and North Korea in September, the G20 Summit in October, the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the South-North Basic Agreement in December, and the Beijing Winter Olympics in February 2022 can become very important opportunities for resuming inter-Korean cooperation and building trust."

He added, "However, if the deadlock continues, we will miss these opportunities for transition," expressing concern that "the momentum for advancing the Korean Peninsula peace process may weaken due to variables such as our presidential election schedule starting in the second half of this year, the U.S. midterm elections scheduled for the second half of next year, and possibly the intensification of U.S.-China strategic competition."

Minister Lee predicted, "In conclusion, it is the most optimized choice for South Korea, North Korea, and the United States to create 'new changes' in the second half of this year to avoid a prolonged and structural deadlock and enter a better cycle of peace and cooperation."

As the policy direction of our government for this, he presented 'sincere consistency,' emphasizing, "As we have done so far, the government intends to consistently and continuously uphold policy principles and steadily move toward the goal of developing inter-Korean relations and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula."

Minister Lee stated, "We are ready to advance the Korean Peninsula peace process again by turning all past achievements and experiences of setbacks into assets," and expressed hope that "North Korea will come to the negotiation table with a flexible and proactive attitude as soon as possible to discuss and negotiate substantive issues such as denuclearization, sanctions relief, normalization of North Korea-U.S. relations, and progress in inter-Korean relations."

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