[New Year's Address] Lee In-young "The Optimal Deadline to Resolve the Korean Peninsula Issue Is Approaching"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, urged timely dialogue, saying, "The optimal deadline to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue is running out."

In his New Year's address at the opening ceremony on the 3rd, Minister Lee stated, "There have not been many occasions when peace players, including South Korea, North Korea, and the United States, have shared a consensus on peace on the Korean Peninsula, including a declaration to end the war, and gathered their will and efforts to resolve the issue in the same direction within a certain timeframe."

As an example, he introduced the incident in 2000 when Kim Jong-il, then Chairman of North Korea's National Defense Commission, attempted to invite then U.S. President Clinton but the plan was aborted, calling it a "precious opportunity," and said, "After that, it took about 20 years for the leaders of North Korea and the United States to sit down again to discuss denuclearization and improving relations."

This implies that if the current opportunity for inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. dialogue is missed, there may be no chance to meet for a long time in the future.

Minister Lee said, "The current stable situation and the framework for dialogue and engagement on the Korean Peninsula issue were not created by mere chance," adding, "If we do not make a renewed decision for peace and engage in timely dialogue, the momentum to maintain peace will weaken, and it may become difficult to even preserve this small, precious peace and stability we currently hold."

He also forecasted, "If South and North Korea cooperate now, they can jointly design recovery and development in the 'post-COVID era.' Not only South Korea but also the North will be able to safely and successfully achieve a soft landing and transition in the post-pandemic era."

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