South, North Korea should lead peninsular issues: Unification minister

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday that South and North Korea, not outside powers, should take the lead in resolving security issues on the Korean Peninsula.

"The leading players on Korean Peninsula issues are South and North Korea. That is the constant," Chung said at the fourth meeting of the Unification Ministry's peace advisory council held at the Office of Inter-Korean Dialogue.

"Other countries are only variables," Chung said, "But they have come to override the constant. That is a tragedy."

His remarks appeared to reflect a concern that Seoul could be sidelined as international attention shifts back to the Korean Peninsula.

With a string of summits among the United States, China, Russia and North Korea having recently wrapped up, and the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran apparently winding down under a new peace deal, global focus could soon turn back toward security issues on the peninsula.

Against this backdrop, Chung's underlying message was that the two Koreas, not outside powers, should be the ones leading the way.

During Wednesday's event, the Unification Minister also recalled his 2005 visit to Pyongyang when he met Kim Jong-il, father of current North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, while attending the fifth anniversary of the June 15 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration, a historic peace agreement aimed at building mutual trust.

Chung said the two agreed that South and North Korea should take the initiative in building peace on the peninsula.

"We should be bold and decide our own destiny," he quoted the late Kim as saying.

Yonhap