South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it remains committed to peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula after a North Korean Foreign Ministry official again described South Korea as an “unchanging enemy state.”
“We have consistently maintained that we respect the North Korean system and do not pursue hostile actions, in line with our policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula,” Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoon Min-ho said during a regular briefing in Seoul on June 15.
Yoon said the administration of President Lee Jae-myung immediately halted the launch of anti-Pyongyang leaflets and loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea upon taking office and, unlike previous administrations, introduced legal measures aimed at preventing their recurrence.
He also highlighted the government’s response to a drone-incursion incident, saying authorities promptly expressed regret, pledged to prevent a recurrence and revised relevant regulations to stop tensions from escalating.
“These actions demonstrate our commitment to peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula through sincere and concrete measures,” Yoon said.
He added that the government would continue efforts to ease tensions and improve inter-Korean relations.
The remarks came after a spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s Bureau 10 issued a statement on June 13 criticizing a joint statement released during President Lee’s visit to Europe. Pyongyang objected to language rejecting North Korea’s status as a nuclear weapons state and condemning military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.
The North described the statement as an infringement on its sovereignty and a hostile act.
The spokesperson also labeled South Korea an “unchanging enemy state” that has institutionalized hostility and confrontation, arguing that peaceful coexistence between the two Koreas is impossible. The statement further criticized the Lee administration’s conciliatory approach toward Pyongyang and compared South Korea to a “dagger” being used in U.S. strategies toward North Korea and China, insisting that Pyongyang’s hostile policy toward Seoul would remain unchanged.