Advertisement
South Korea
This Week in AsiaPolitics

South Korean president’s peace hopes dim as Pyongyang pledges arms build-up

One way to break the deadlock is to revive talks between the two Koreas, China and the US to end the Korean war, an analyst suggests

3-MIN READ3-MIN
3
Listen
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observes a new multipurpose missile launching system and tactical cruise missile weapon system at an unspecified location in May. Photo: KCNA/YNA/dpa
Park Chan-kyong
After a year in office, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s efforts to improve relations with arch-rival Pyongyang appear to have stalled.

To break the impasse, Lee may have to take the big step of partnering with China and the United States to formally end the 1950-1953 Korean war, according to analysts.

Upon taking office, Lee pledged to pursue peaceful coexistence with the North after inter-Korean tensions reached their highest level in decades under his predecessor Yoon Suk-yeol.

“President Lee inherited a difficult situation in terms of relations with the North because Pyongyang had already defined South Korea as its ‘principal enemy’ and most hostile state,” said Koh Yu-hwan, professor emeritus at Dongguk University.

Although Lee had made clear that Seoul would not pursue German-style reunification through North Korea’s peaceful collapse – a scenario long suspected by Pyongyang – the North decided to sever its ties with Seoul, Koh said.

North Korea has amended its constitution to define relations with its southern neighbour as those of two hostile states, formally abandoning the long-standing goal of Korean unification while fortifying the inter-Korean border.

Pyongyang had also reportedly codified its status as a nuclear-armed state in its constitution, making denuclearisation talks politically and legally difficult, Koh said.

Advertisement
Select Voice
Select Speed
1.00x