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President Lee Jae Myung speaks at a New 12 months’s press convention held on Jan. 21, 2026, on the Blue Home state visitor home. (Yonhap)
South Korea’s President Lee Jae Myung careworn the necessity to “face the plain actuality” of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program whereas not giving up on the “excellent situation” during which Pyongyang relinquishes its nukes. Little progress has been made on the problem in recent times as a result of severing of communication between the 2 Koreas.
As a substitute of touting an instantaneous, all-out push to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons, Lee has as soon as once more emphasised a step-by-step, gradual resolution that befits North Korea’s refined nuclear capabilities.
The president made the feedback throughout a New 12 months’s press convention on the Blue Home’s state reception corridor on Wednesday
“Do you imagine that North Korea will readily surrender its nuclear capabilities?” Lee requested the reporters gathered on the press convention. “If we’re to be sensible, North Korea’s nuclear arsenal will proceed to develop. It might profit everybody if it ceased to provide nuclear materials and stopped advancing expertise [related to nuclear weapons]. A halt on any developments which might be presently going down would even be good.”
Calling this the “pragmatic” strategy, Lee mentioned, “We are trying to steer our efforts in a path that can profit everybody by discovering an answer that doesn’t contain eradicating our opponent, however acknowledges them, whereas additionally making sense to each events.”
Whereas Lee admitted that inter-Korea dialogue is presently at an deadlock, he centered on the necessity to pursue a three-stage denuclearization plan, which includes freezing, lowering, and dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile packages, even when it takes time.
“The technique for inter-Korean relations is easy, however clear. We are going to safe sturdy protection and deterrence capabilities, then use that as a base to conduct dialogue, to seek the advice of with each other, and to deal with each other with respect. Halting present developments will profit everybody. We ought to barter towards essentially the most sensible step of freezing North Korea’s program, then attempt to cut back it, earlier than enjoying the lengthy recreation for denuclearization,” mentioned Lee.
The South Korean chief additionally referenced the opportunity of dialogue between the US and North Korea.
“US President Donald Trump’s model appears to be efficient when partaking with North Korean chief Kim Jong-un,” Lee famous. “North Korea needs to be acknowledged as a nuclear weapons state. It appears to imagine, rightly so, that the important thing to creating that want come true lies in North Korea-US relations.”
Mentioning the current incident during which a South Korean civilian flew a drone into North Korea, Lee expressed sympathy with the mistrust the North harbors towards the South.
“From North Korea’s perspective, after all it’s not going to belief the phrases that come out of our mouths once we discuss dialogue, peace and stability. Who can blame it? We have to put ourselves of their footwear, and vice versa. Solely then can we begin to focus on and recalibrate,” mentioned Lee.
By Jang Ye-ji, workers reporter
Please direct questions or feedback to [english@hani.co.kr]
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