N. Korea is more \"flexible\" than past, unification minister says

Lee In-young said, \"right now is the ideal time\" to resume dialogue with North Korea

South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young delivers a keynote address at the 7th International Symposium for Peace on the Korean Peninsula, held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap News)

South Korea's point man for North Korean affairs said Friday that this is a "good opportunity to turn things around" since Seoul and Washington are committed to dialogue at the same time that Pyongyang's attitude is more flexible than before.

Unification Minister Lee In-young made the remarks in his keynote address at the 7th International Symposium for Peace on the Korean Peninsula, held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul. The symposium's theme was "The Biden Era: The Future of the Korean Peninsula at a Time of Intensifying Hegemonic Competition between the US and China."

"All three of the main factors I thought would define Korean Peninsula affairs this year are moving in a generally positive direction," Lee said during his address.

Lee identified those factors as the South Korean government's consistent message and policy toward the North, the Biden administration's adoption of a Korean Peninsula policy based on a peaceful solution, and North Korea's new strategy and policy line.

"Chairman Kim Jong-un mentioned maintaining stability on the Korean Peninsula and hinted at the possibility of dialogue in the 3rd Plenary Session of the [8th] Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea last week and adopted a more flexible stance than before. Despite the statements of Vice Department Director Kim Yo-jong and Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon [on Tuesday and Wednesday], I think we're seeing a slow shift in the bigger trend, though we shouldn't jump to conclusions," Lee said.

"The time has come to resume the talks that have stalled between South and North Korea and between North Korea and the US and to once again meet each other at the negotiating table. I think that right now is the ideal time for that turning point," Lee added.

"If momentum for turning things around doesn't begin now, South Korea's political schedule and other factors will leave both Seoul and Pyongyang with fewer options for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula from the second half of this year until next year."

"The most urgent task of all is to resume inter-Korean dialogue by restoring meaningful channels of inter-Korean communication," he said.

"Competition between the US and China has become a 'structural constant' in international politics. A critical task for us in the future is to turn the agenda of peace on the Korean Peninsula, including the denuclearization of the peninsula, into a space for constructive cooperation between the US and China."

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]