South Korea’s Foreign and Unification ministers have publicly disagreed over how to engage North Korea, exposing differences within President Lee Jae Myung’s government as it seeks to revive stalled contact with Pyongyang.

Policy Disagreement

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun called North Korean engagement proposals unveiled by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at a Wednesday policy meeting with Lee “idealistic,” saying they had not received the backing of other ministries. Cho told reporters to discount Chung’s remarks, which Chung responded to by saying that ideals are needed to change reality.

Chung’s proposals included launching four-party talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, and China as a key initiative for the second half of the year. However, Cho stated that the ideas had not been sufficiently discussed or found consensus within the government.

Implications

The disagreement comes as Seoul has been trying to persuade North Korea to respond to a series of conciliatory gestures since Lee took office. His administration has shifted away from a “denuclearisation-first” policy toward a “peace-first” approach, while urging U.S. President Donald Trump to seek a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to reopen dialogue.

Analysts said any policy differences were likely to be watched closely by Pyongyang and could complicate Seoul’s efforts to re-engage with the North. The disagreement “exposed internal differences and weakening policy momentum surrounding North Korea policy,” said Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.