Jeong Dong-young calls for four-way talks to replace armistice with peace deal

Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young said Wednesday that if a North Korea-US summit is realized, South Korea will seek to expand it into a four-way dialogue involving the two Koreas, the United States and China, with the goal of replacing the Korean Peninsula's armistice regime with a permanent peace deal. He also said South Korea should pursue "de facto unification" by restoring free movement between the two Koreas, leaving formal legal and political unification to future generations.

Speaking at a special lecture at the Herald Global Business Forum at Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel on Wednesday, Jeong said, "Our strategic objective is to bring a North Korea-US summit into a four-way dialogue and connect that to a peace deal."

Jeong opened by highlighting the instability of the long-running armistice system, calling for peace to be institutionalized. Comparing the current armistice to a "temporary structure," he said, "We need to build a foundation where people can go to work without worry and carry on their daily lives with their families."

With North Korea having defined inter-Korean relations as those between "two hostile states" and refusing to engage in dialogue, Jeong said direct talks between the leaders of North Korea and the United States could serve as a breakthrough. He outlined a plan to use any such dialogue as a springboard for broader discussions involving the two Koreas, the US and China.

He proposed that the agenda for peace deal negotiations include replacing the armistice agreement with a formal peace deal, improving North Korea-US relations, halting the advancement of North Korea's nuclear capabilities and expanding economic cooperation.

On the question of unification, Jeong said, "What we need is de facto unification," adding that legal and political unification should be left to future generations while South Korea first pursues free movement between the two sides.

"Let's just come and go a bit. That is de facto unification," he said, stressing the need to restore inter-Korean exchanges of people and goods.

Citing the expansion of exchanges that followed the normalization of South Korea-China diplomatic relations, Jeong said the two Koreas must similarly work to dissolve their adversarial relationship and create conditions for free movement.

He also pointed to the plight of separated families as a reason to restore exchanges, noting that many are aging without even knowing whether their relatives are alive. He said restoring free movement would help address such humanitarian concerns.

Jeong also signaled his intention to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex, saying that the desire to do so was part of what brought him back to the post of unification minister. He acknowledged, however, that conditions have become more difficult than before, making a resumption no easy task.

On the economic benefits of transitioning to a peace deal, Jeong said it would reduce the burden of military tension and open new avenues for growth. He said combining South Korea's capital and technology with North Korea's labor and natural resources could secure a new engine of growth.

The third week of the 10th Herald GBF program was organized around the theme "The Power to Read the Future in an Age of Uncertainty," exploring the direction South Korea should take and the wisdom needed to prepare for the future amid rapidly shifting international and economic conditions.