South Korean Minister Calls for Phased North Korea Nuclear Talks Starting with U.S. Dialogue

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young called Friday for shifting away from an approach that treats denuclearization as the sole precondition for talks with North Korea. Chung made the remarks in a keynote speech at the Korean Peninsula Symposium 2026 in Seoul. The forum was co-hosted by Yonhap News Agency.

He said the precondition has contributed to stalled diplomacy and allowed North Korea to advance its nuclear and weapons capabilities over the past three decades. "As the past 30 years have shown, whenever peace talks were halted by the denuclearization hurdle, North Korea used that time to further advance its nuclear capabilities," Chung said.

"We must move away from the old notion that a peace regime can only be discussed after the North Korean nuclear issue is resolved.

We need to pursue a phased and pragmatic solution. " Chung outlined a three-stage process of freeze, reduction and denuclearization. He said the approach must begin with direct dialogue between the United States and North Korea.

Chung cited the 2018 Singapore summit agreement and said both sides should immediately resume talks to end mutual hostility. , China and the two Koreas," he said. Chung added that China has expressed support for the pragmatic approach.