Seoul shifts from denuclearization-first to peace-first on NK, minister says

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks during a press conference commemorating his one year in the position ahead of the anniversary on July 25 in the Government Complex Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap

South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the Lee Jae Myung government has effectively abandoned the previous administration’s denuclearization-first policy against North Korea, reorienting its approach around a peace-first strategy aimed at eventually achieving a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

"In its first year, the Lee Jae Myung administration virtually scrapped the prior administration's stance of 'denuclearization-first' and Complete, Verifiable and Irreversible Dismantlement (CVID), shifting its policy focus to a peace-first policy instead,” Chung told reporters during a press conference marking his first in the post, ahead of the anniversary on July 25.

Chung said the government has also dropped the term "denuclearization of North Korea" from its official vocabulary, replacing it with the broader goal of a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula."

"We reestablished the goal to build the nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and decided not to use the term 'the denuclearization of North Korea,'" he said.

The minister outlined a strategy centered on first freezing North Korea's nuclear program rather than demanding immediate dismantlement.

"We are fleshing out a peace-driven strategy centered on the immediate freeze of North Korea's nuclear program. As I've emphasized when I first took office — getting Pyongyang to stop the program first is paramount. While we are speaking, North Korea is actively building up its nuclear arsenal," Chung said.

“In reality, the former administration's move to take the denuclearization-first approach was politically motivated for the domestic politics."