Unification minister calls Lee-Trump pairing 'optimal leadership' for Korean Peninsula peace

Minister of Unification Jeong Dong-young on Thursday described the pairing of President Lee Jae-myung and US President Donald Trump as "the optimal leadership combination for achieving a transition to a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula," calling for the completion of "cross-recognition" through the normalization of North Korea-US and North Korea-Japan diplomatic ties as inter-Korean dialogue advances.

Jeong made the remarks at an academic conference titled "Three Blueprints for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula: A Journey Toward a Peace Regime," co-hosted by the Ministry of Unification and the East Asia Institute at the Westin Chosun Seoul hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul.

On the political front, Jeong called for the conclusion of a peace deal. On the diplomatic front, he identified the normalization of North Korea-US and North Korea-Japan relations as "unfinished business left over after South Korea established ties with the Soviet Union and China." He said completing that cross-recognition framework — a concept former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger first proposed at the UN General Assembly in 1975 — was essential to laying a solid foundation for a lasting peace regime on the peninsula.

Jeong also laid out a roadmap for military and humanitarian-economic affairs. On the military side, he said it would be possible to "first halt the advancement of nuclear capabilities and then develop mutual confidence-building measures," adding that conventional arms control could also be put on the table. On humanitarian and economic cooperation, he said discussions could cover "humanitarian collaboration as well as cooperation to overcome new challenges such as climate change and AI, and to improve people's lives."

Jeong stressed that both President Lee and President Trump have a strong will to engage with North Korea, and underscored the South Korean government's commitment to taking the initiative in building trust. "We must make clear that our willingness to pursue mutual respect and an end to confrontation is not empty rhetoric — without first demanding concessions or change from North Korea," he said. "We will do our utmost to establish inter-Korean communication channels, including opening lines of contact, and will pursue the peaceful use of border areas as part of the transition to a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."