First Vice International Minister Park Yoon-joo of South Korea (left) and performing US Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim attend the primary Korea-US Diplomacy Discussion board, held at Lotte Resort Seoul on Nov. 20, 2025. (Yonhap)
The performing US ambassador to South Korea voiced issues in a current assembly with senior overseas affairs and nationwide safety officers that President Lee Jae Myung’s use of the phrase “Korean Peninsula freed from nuclear weapons” as a substitute of “denuclearization” might ship the flawed message to North Korea, the Hankyoreh realized on Tuesday.
A supply acquainted with the scenario amongst overseas affairs officers instructed the Hankyoreh that in a gathering with senior South Korean authorities officers, performing Ambassador Kevin Kim “expressed the view that the usage of the phrase ‘Korean Peninsula freed from nuclear weapons’ as a substitute of ‘denuclearization’ might ship the flawed sign” to North Korea.
The identical supply quoted Kim as asking why Lee was “talking ambiguously” a few “nuclear-free” peninsula when he ought to “simply say ‘[North Korean] denuclearization.’”
Kim has just lately held successive conferences with South Korean Minister of International Affairs Cho Hyun, Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young, and Minister of Nationwide Protection Ahn Gyu-back. Whereas talking to reporters after a closed-door assembly on Monday with the primary vice minister of overseas affairs, Park Yoon-joo, Kim mentioned the 2 had mentioned methods for either side to coordinate successfully on quite a few points, together with ones regarding North Korea, and that their presidents had reaffirmed their promise to attain North Korea’s full denuclearization at a current bilateral summit.
Lee’s first use of the time period “Korean Peninsula freed from nuclear weapons” got here in a celebratory tackle for Liberation Day on Aug. 15. On the time, he used the phrase alongside “denuclearization.”
However at a Dec. 2 assembly for the launch of the Peaceable Unification Advisory Council, he omitted the time period “denuclearization” in a message stressing his plans to “make ongoing efforts to finish the state of conflict on the Korean Peninsula, pursuing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and dealing to determine a strong peace.”
This isn’t the primary time Washington has voiced issues over Seoul’s insurance policies towards North Korea. A number of sources within the administration mentioned that the US had expressed issues just lately about Chung’s remarks on “changes” to bilateral navy workouts, suggesting the 2 sides ought to coordinate beforehand on issues pertaining to North Korea coverage.
As a mirrored image of those currents, the 2 sides just lately agreed to carry common coverage coordination conferences to deal with variations regarding North Korea coverage.
“There have been working-level discussions for a number of months on concepts for holding common conferences for coverage coordination between South Korea and the US,” a Ministry of International Affairs official mentioned.
“We anticipate to debate all areas of North Korea coverage in these conferences, together with measures for engagement with the North,” they added.
By Search engine optimisation Younger-ji, employees reporter
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