President Lee Jae Myung said Monday that North Korea may have felt humiliated by Seoul’s alleged drone incursion under the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration, stressing the need to restore communication and reduce tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
“Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated to the point that it could not get worse,” Lee said during a press conference marking the first anniversary of his inauguration at Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee said that while his administration seeks "dialogue, communication, coexistence and shared prosperity," the previous administration pushed inter-Korean relations to the brink.
Lee accused the previous administration of treating North Korea with hostility for political purposes, saying it had even sought to induce a military clash to create grounds for Yoon’s failed martial law declaration on Dec. 3, 2024.
“It was allegedly done to create a pretext for martial law and induce a military clash,” Lee said. “How much humiliation must they have felt while enduring that?”
The remarks came in response to a question about Chinese President Xi Jinping’s scheduled visit to North Korea on Monday and Tuesday and shifting regional dynamics involving Pyongyang, Beijing and Moscow.
Lee said South Korea holds an overwhelming conventional military advantage over North Korea, adding that the imbalance may be one reason Pyongyang continues to rely on nuclear weapons.
He added that years of hostility had pushed the two Koreas further apart, with North Korea building barriers along the Military Demarcation Line and cutting off channels of engagement.
“We still need to talk. Even during war, dialogue and diplomacy continue,” Lee said. “Even if you strike with your right hand, you need to hold with your left. Communication must continue.”
He said there had been some signs of improvement, noting that North Korea had stopped sending trash-filled balloons and halted loudspeaker broadcasts toward the South.
“Residents near the inter-Korean border say things have improved,” Lee said. “There has been some progress, little by little. But it will not be easy.”
Lee said he believes inter-Korean relations could improve over the long term, referring to Xi’s previous remark on South Korea-China relations that “ice three feet thick does not melt in a single day.”
“Even if it melts, it will take time,” Lee said. “The same applies to inter-Korean relations.”
Lee said South Korea should continue to pursue the constitutional goal of peaceful unification, but added that in the current situation, emphasizing unification too directly could further damage ties.
“For now, we should move toward peaceful coexistence through communication, dialogue and mutual respect,” he said.
Lee also stressed the need to normalize ties with neighboring countries, saying the South Korea-US alliance remains important but should not be the country’s only diplomatic focus.
“The alliance with the US is important and should be developed in a future-oriented way, but that is not everything,” Lee said.
“We also have relations with China. As neighboring countries, we need to respect each other and communicate when necessary.”
He added that the same applies to Japan, a country with which South Korea has long-running disputes over Tokyo’s 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, as well as territorial and historical issues.
“There is no need to take a path that harms each other,” Lee said. “We should find paths that help each other. There are plenty of them.”
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
