Seoul: President Lee Jae Myung's "END" initiative on dialogue with North Korea-focused on exchange, normalization, and denuclearization-will be pursued as a mutually reinforcing structure, where progress in one area aids advancement in others, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac stated Tuesday.
According to Yonhap News Agency, Wi elaborated on the vision Lee presented during his address to the U.N. General Assembly earlier in the day, characterizing it as an integrated approach aimed at ending confrontation and hostilities on the Korean Peninsula. This initiative comes in the face of Pyongyang's continued rejection of Seoul's peace overtures.
Wi emphasized that Lee's objective is to address the Korean Peninsula issue through a comprehensive approach anchored on these principles. He clarified that there is no particular order or precedence among the three elements. The principles have been highlighted in past inter-Korean agreements and the 2018 Singapore declaration between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Wi's comments were made amid cautious optimism for the potential resumption of talks between Trump and Kim, who met three times during Trump's first term. Trump has indicated a willingness to restart dialogue with North Korea, while Kim recently remarked on his positive recollections of Trump but insisted that Washington drop its denuclearization demands.