Jeong Dong-yeong "US-ROK Summit Must Address North Korea-US Talks... Opposition, Send Peace Delegation"

"Send Opposition Peace Delegation"

Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party, announced that he is personally overseeing the National Space Development Agency and plans to launch a military reconnaissance satellite within the scheduled timeframe. In response, former Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young stated, "When two sides clash head-on, the outcome is usually unfortunate," and argued that the upcoming South Korea-US summit should address North Korea-US dialogue.

On the 19th, former Minister Chung said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs," "We are currently in a head-on confrontation. We are trying to subdue the North by force, and the North is responding with nuclear weapons," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "Strengthening a robust national defense is fundamental, but abandoning the power and role of diplomacy is a poor strategy," and said, "Currently, inter-Korean relations are completely severed, and there is no movement to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through diplomacy. This is precisely why I believe the North Korea-US dialogue should be a key issue at the upcoming South Korea-US summit."

Former Minister Chung cited former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who once said, "If these countries cannot solve this issue through diplomacy, then what is diplomacy for?" He emphasized, "Now is the time to reconsider the power of diplomacy."

He also stressed the role of the opposition party. He said, "In South Korea, there are voices and forces advocating for a peace diplomacy line, inter-Korean dialogue line, and North Korea-US dialogue line, rather than the confrontation, pressure, and peace through strength line pursued by the Yoon Seok-youl administration. The opposition party should take the lead in voicing these opinions," and raised his voice, saying, "I think they should even send a delegation."

He also criticized Kim Tae-hyo, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, who is known as a so-called 'diplomatic powerhouse.' Former Minister Chung pointed out, "The direction of our major diplomatic and security strategy is going wrong. Regarding diplomacy and security, it would not be an exaggeration to say that this is the Kim Tae-hyo administration, not the Yoon Seok-youl administration."

He said, "(Deputy Director Kim Tae-hyo) holds all the authority and weight, but his way of thinking is very dangerous. He is a believer in the theory of North Korea's collapse and in the imminent US-China conflict," adding, "President Yoon Seok-youl needs to open his ears more and listen to the opposition, dissenters, and advocates of peace diplomacy on the Korean Peninsula."

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