Lee Says Path to Peace Is Not Easy... Chung Dong-young Says South Korea Must Take the Lead in Four-Party Talks

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung said the road to peace on the Korean Peninsula is not easy, but that efforts must continue. He made the remarks in a congratulatory message for the 2026 Global Korea Forum, hosted by the Ministry of Unification (MOU) at The Westin Josun Seoul in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 27th. The message was read by the second deputy director of the Office of National Security (ONS), Im Woong-soon.
Lee said, "The road to peace is not an easy one. Despite our government's efforts to ease military tensions and resume dialogue, the North continues to cling to a hostile line." He added, however, that this cannot be a reason to stop working toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.
Lee also said, "When solutions are not easy to see, that is precisely when we need time to sit together and find a way forward." He again referred to the vision for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula that he outlined in his National Liberation Day of Korea address, stressing mutual respect between the two Koreas.
Lee said, "Fortunately, signs of change are emerging." He added, "U.S. President Donald Trump has expressed his willingness to meet with Chairman Kim Jong Un. South Korea, as a party to peace on the Korean Peninsula and as a pacemaker, will continue to work steadily to support trust-building and the resumption of dialogue between North Korea and the United States, and to realize a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula."
In his opening remarks, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stressed that South Korea must keep moving without pause and seize the best possible opportunity for peace.
He said, "Our government must use its pacemaker role to make North Korea–United States dialogue happen. That means opening the way one step ahead. Rather than sitting still and waiting for movement from the United States, we must act proactively and take the lead to create space and bring about dialogue between North Korea and the United States."
Chung emphasized that South Korea should focus all of its efforts not only on North Korea–United States dialogue, but also on expanding it into four-party talks among South Korea, North Korea, the United States, and China. He said that transforming the unstable armistice system into a peace regime through four-party talks is the fundamental solution to the Korean Peninsula issue.
He said, "We, as the parties involved, must be creative and proactive and take the lead in the transition to a peace regime." He also said that South Korea should promote North Korea–United States dialogue and four-party talks through the preemptive and sustained peace measures and trust-building steps mentioned by Lee, while preparing concrete, government-wide measures for discussions on a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.
Chung said, "We must communicate strategically with relevant countries and build consensus at home and abroad for the establishment of a peace regime. A peace regime will become a new path, one that begins on the Korean Peninsula and spreads peace beyond the region to the world."
He also said, "It will be a way to end the unfinished war on the Korean Peninsula and ultimately move toward a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." Meanwhile, at the forum, Jared Diamond, the UCLA honorary professor and author of "Guns, Germs, and Steel," delivered a keynote speech on the theme "The Choice of Nations: From Division to Peaceful Coexistence."

[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter