Kim Jun-hyung "US Not Very Active on End-of-War Declaration... Korea Interested, So Atmosphere of Cooperation"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Jun-hyung, former director of the National Diplomatic Academy and head of the foreign affairs special advisory group for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, stated on the 17th (local time) that while the United States is not actively pursuing a declaration of the end of the war, the atmosphere is cooperative.

On that day, Kim told correspondents in Washington DC, "From what I hear, the draft of the declaration of the end of the war between South Korea and the U.S. seems to be almost completed."

He added, "After meeting with U.S. officials, the atmosphere is that although the U.S. is not proactive, since the South Korean president is interested, they feel they should cooperate," emphasizing that this was his personal interpretation. "Looking at the current U.S. atmosphere, South Korea really wants to make the declaration, so they are not refusing it, but there seems to be an opinion that if North Korea rejects it, it would be good for the South Korea-U.S. alliance," he claimed.

He also expressed the view that the declaration of the end of the war alone cannot move North Korea. Kim said, "My thought is that if the declaration is brought up again only as a political statement, North Korea will not come to the (dialogue) table."

He stated, "The U.S. believes it must see North Korea give up its nuclear weapons to trust them, and North Korea wants the U.S. to show trust enough for them to give up their nuclear weapons," diagnosing, "The guarantees for this are the suspension of military exercises, the declaration of the end of the war, and the lifting of sanctions. Only the reduction in the scale of military exercises has been realized, the declaration of the end of the war has not been made, and partial easing of sanctions has been blocked."

Regarding whether candidate Lee will visit the U.S. before the presidential election, he assessed that "the possibility is not high," saying, "He should have visited the U.S. before becoming a presidential candidate, and even if he comes now and talks too progressively or takes a pro-U.S. stance, it could cause problems."

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