On Thursday, Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young announced during a meeting with senior figures in inter-Korean relations that he intends to swiftly address the drone incident to ease tensions between North and South Korea and build trust.
The Ministry of Unification reported that Minister Chung made this statement while attending the second meeting of the Korean Peninsula Peace Strategy Advisory Group, held at the Inter-Korean Dialogue Headquarters that morning.
The meeting was attended by 16 experts on inter-Korean relations and North Korea, including former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun and Kim Yun-cheol, chairman of the Korea Peninsula Peace Forum.
Minister Chung emphasized the need for proactive and innovative efforts to make this year a turning point for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula. He stressed that the recent achievements from the Korea-China and Korea-Japan summits should be leveraged to influence the upcoming U.S.-China summit in April, potentially paving the way for a North Korea-U.S. summit.
Experts recommended expanding high-level discussions with neighboring countries to foster peace on the Korean Peninsula. They also suggested exploring ways to use the current situation of indirect communication with North Korea through drones as an opportunity to restore inter-Korean communication channels.
The Ministry of Unification affirmed its commitment to continue engaging with experts, seeking their input to refine and implement its peace strategy for the Korean Peninsula.