Unification minister says North is 'capable of striking U.S. mainland'
Published: 30 Sep. 2025, 16:44
![South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a speech during the 14th JoongAng-CSIS Forum at the Shilla Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul on Aug. 26. [JEON MIN-KYU]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/30/b65f590b-1995-4e2f-8eb3-f02aabba6f51.jpg)
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a speech during the 14th JoongAng-CSIS Forum at the Shilla Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul on Aug. 26. [JEON MIN-KYU]
The South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Monday that "North Korea has become one of three countries capable of striking the U.S. mainland" during his visit to Germany.
This raised concerns that the comment could be interpreted as acknowledging the North as a fully nuclear-armed state on par with China and Russia. However, the Ministry stated that it was merely "underscoring" the North's nuclear capabilities.
Speaking to reporters in Berlin, where he was attending events including the 2025 Global Korea Forum, Chung said, “North Korea has become one of the three countries that can strike the U.S. mainland,” adding, “We have to calmly acknowledge what needs to be acknowledged.”
Referring to the 2018 North Korea-U. S. summit, Chung said, “North Korea calls itself a strategic state, and its strategic position has changed. We have to start from that reality.”
Chung appears to have intended to highlight the severity of North Korea’s nuclear threat. Considering North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s repeated assertion that “denuclearization will never happen,” his comments may also reflect an attempt to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table.
However, critics warn that such an approach could undermine the goal of North Korea’s denuclearization. Referring to Pyongyang as one of “three countries capable of striking the U.S. mainland” could be interpreted as placing it on equal footing with China and Russia — states widely recognized as possessing both nuclear warheads and reliable intercontinental delivery systems.
The South Korean government officially assesses that North Korea has not yet secured the atmospheric reentry technology required for a fully functional intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
![Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks at a forum commemorating the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration at Camp Greaves in Paju, Gyeonggi on Sept. 19. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/30/4f7ea62e-356a-4c94-81c9-d03cf0defd15.jpg)
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks at a forum commemorating the seventh anniversary of the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Joint Declaration at Camp Greaves in Paju, Gyeonggi on Sept. 19. [YONHAP]
A Unification Ministry official later clarified Chung’s remarks, saying they were intended to underscore the increasing sophistication of North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities. “China and Russia already have ICBMs and nuclear delivery capabilities, so the minister’s remarks should be understood in that context,” the official said.
Chung also commented on the breakdown of the 2019 Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un, saying, “Had a ‘small deal’ been reached, the trajectory of the nuclear issue could have been different.” At the time, North Korea had offered to dismantle its Yongbyon nuclear facility in exchange for sanctions relief, but Trump walked away from the talks, demanding a more comprehensive denuclearization agreement.
North Korea’s then-Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho and then-Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui held a press conference following the summit’s collapse, saying, “The United States missed a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity by rejecting our proposal.” Chung said on Monday that “unfortunately, that assessment turned out to be correct.”
Addressing criticism that his recently proposed “peaceful two-state initiative” contradicts South Korea’s Constitution, Chung dismissed such concerns as “empty rhetoric,” saying, “We need to resume exchanges and cooperation based on the two-state initiative.”
He also remarked, “If North Korea and the United States engage in a security-for-security exchange, Washington has no intention of providing support or funding. If Kim Jong-un is sincere in his stated desire to follow the path of Vietnam, then inter-Korean cooperation is the only viable route.”
![Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs for North Korea Kim Son-gyong addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 29. [AP/YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2025/09/30/e07ec935-a94a-41f8-ab13-cc5df77bd457.jpg)
Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs for North Korea Kim Son-gyong addresses the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly at United Nations headquarters, on Sept. 29. [AP/YONHAP]
Meanwhile, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Son-gyong reiterated Pyongyang’s refusal to denuclearize during a speech at the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday, saying, “We will never give up our nuclear weapons.”
"We will never give up [our] nuclear [program], which is our state law, national policy and sovereign power, as well as the right to existence, under any circumstances," Kim said. "We will never walk away from this position."
However, Kim also said that "irrespective of differences in ideals and systems," North Korea "will promote multifaceted exchanges and cooperation with the countries that respect and take a friendly approach toward it."
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY LEE YU-JUNG, CHUNG YEONG-GYO [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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