Presidential chief of employees Kang Hoon-sik delivers opening remarks throughout a briefing on the Lee Jae Myung administration’s efficiency in its first six months on the presidential workplace in Seoul’s Yongsan District, Sunday. Sitting within the entrance row on the suitable is Nationwide Safety Adviser Wi Sung-lac. Korea Occasions picture by Wang Tae-seog
South Korea is not going to scale back joint army drills with the USA as a way of encouraging talks with the North, Nationwide Safety Adviser Wi Sung-lac mentioned Sunday, regardless of the federal government’s efforts to restart dialogue and advance a wider coexistence agenda.
Wi’s feedback got here throughout a press briefing on the presidential workplace, which reviewed the Lee Jae Myung administration’s first six months and outlined its diplomatic document and method to Pyongyang. His remarks drew added consideration amid a rising public debate over whether or not adjusting the drills may assist deliver North Korea again to the desk.
“Now we have achieved a lot within the exterior diplomatic setting, however not as a lot in inter-Korean relations,” Wi mentioned, describing the administration’s renewed efforts to reestablish communication with Pyongyang. “There are a lot of choices we are able to think about for restarting inter-Korean dialogue, however joint workouts with the USA are usually not among the many choices we’re immediately weighing.”
Wi emphasised that South Korea intends to behave as a “pacemaker” in diplomatic efforts, protecting shut alignment with Washington, which he mentioned would take a extra proactive position as a “peacemaker,” whereas in search of alternatives to rebuild belief between the 2 Koreas. He defined that the federal government plans to provoke a “peaceable coexistence course of” for the Korean Peninsula in 2026, presenting the 12 months as a strategic pivot from fundamental stabilization to significant progress on the peninsula.
Nationwide Safety Adviser Wi Sung-lac, entrance row middle, takes half in a press briefing on the presidential workplace in Seoul, Sunday. Kim Yong-beom, entrance row left, presidential chief of employees for coverage, and presidential chief of employees Kang Hoon-sik, entrance row proper, are additionally on the press occasion. Yonhap
“2026 should change into a 12 months not solely of restoration however an actual takeoff. We are going to work to reopen dialogue with North Korea and put the Korean Peninsula’s peace-coexistence course of into full movement. As a pacemaker, we are going to keep in shut coordination with the USA and pursue measures that may construct belief between the 2 Koreas,” Wi mentioned through the briefing.
Wi acknowledged that the administration has made little headway in detente over the previous six months, noting that Seoul launched sure rigidity discount measures however noticed no corresponding actions from Pyongyang.
Nonetheless, he argued that the federal government has strengthened the diplomatic setting in ways in which may in the end assist renewed engagement with the North. Since taking workplace, the Lee administration has stabilized alliance relations with the USA, adopted a forward-looking method towards Japan and begun steering relations with China towards restoration. He added that Seoul can be quietly in search of alternatives for dialogue with Russia, even when seen progress stays restricted.
The nationwide safety adviser’s remarks appeared aimed toward clarifying the federal government’s place amid a widening debate in Seoul. In latest weeks, a number of senior officers, together with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, have steered that adjusting the South Korea-U.S. joint workouts could also be essential to revive stalled diplomacy with Pyongyang.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks at a discussion board on inter-Korean relations in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap
In accordance with a neighborhood media report on Thursday, American diplomatic officers have expressed issues about such proposals. They lately underscored to Seoul the strategic significance of U.S. Forces Korea and confused that the Donald Trump administration now views a robust mixed protection posture as important. Whereas Trump had criticized the drills as overly expensive throughout his first time period and even steered suspending them, U.S. officers indicated that his present stance has modified.
Chung has continued to argue that “we can not maintain South Korea-U.S. army workouts and concurrently anticipate a North Korea-U.S. summit,” and criticized what he calls “bureaucratic pondering that waits for American approval.”
Wi’s feedback on Sunday clearly diverged from that viewpoint and signaled the administration’s intention to pursue inter-Korean engagement whereas sustaining army readiness and shut alliance coordination.
Nationwide Safety Adviser Wi Sung-lac delivers a presentation, wrapping up President Lee Jae Myung’s six-month efficiency, on the presidential workplace in Seoul, Sunday. Yonhap
Deputy Nationwide Safety Adviser Kim Hyun-jong used the briefing to explain the federal government’s subsequent steps after safety talks with Washington, saying the Nationwide Safety Workplace has fashioned three job forces to coordinate work on key initiatives, together with cooperation on nuclear submarine know-how and exploring joint use of enriched uranium.
“The primary job pressure focuses on consultations relating to enriched uranium, the second on nuclear-powered submarines and the third on protection budgeting,” Kim defined.
He added that Seoul is getting ready a street map for consultations with Washington and that working-level discussions started this month, with concrete outcomes anticipated within the first half of subsequent 12 months.
Presidential chief of employees Kang Hoon-sik additionally introduced that the presidential workplace will return to Cheong Wa Dae earlier than the top of this 12 months.
“We’re closing the Yongsan chapter and transferring the presidential workplace again to the place it belongs, at Cheong Wa Dae,” Kang mentioned, noting that the relocation of labor services is anticipated to be accomplished round Christmas.
