Unification Minister Chung Dong-young [YONHAP]
The South Korean government is reframing its approach to North Korea to prioritize peaceful coexistence between “two states” more than reunification, according to the Ministry of Unification's annual white paper released on Monday.
The document outlines three core principles guiding the incumbent Lee Jae Myung administration's North Korea policy: “respecting the North's political system,” “not pursuing the absorption of North Korea” and “refraining from hostile acts.”
“Taking into account the reality that the two Koreas effectively exist as two separate states, we seek to develop inter-Korean relations into one of peaceful coexistence while pursuing unification,” the Unification Ministry explained.
References to “peace” or “peaceful coexistence” in the document surged from 108 last year to 627 this year. The previous white paper was published during the conservative Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which pursued a more hard-line approach toward Pyongyang through pressure and information campaigns. Mentions of “dialogue” also rose from 50 to 144 times.
References to “North Korean human rights,” on the other hand, dropped from 288 to 47. The topic was also downgraded from a stand-alone chapter in last year's edition to a brief subsection titled “Promoting Inter-Korean Human Rights Cooperation” (translation).
Mentions of “freedom” fell from 118 to 16 times.
This year's white paper also removed appendices that had appeared in last year's edition and included the status of the United Nations North Korean human rights resolutions and of UN Security Council sanctions against the North. Data on South Korean prisoners of war, abductees, detainees and separated families — which had been listed first among key inter-Korean statistics in last year's version — were pushed further back in the document as well.
Critics argue that formally framing the two Koreas as separate states in an official government publication contradicts South Korea's own
Constitution, which calls for peaceful reunification and defines the entire peninsula as a single territory. Some also say that the language risks playing into North Korea's own narrative, as Pyongyang has increasingly promoted a “two states” framework to justify cutting ties with the South.
When defending the document, the Unification Ministry claimed that its language was consistent with the existing reunification formula, which envisions an interim stage of coexistence before full reunification.
“[The new approach] envisions a [intermediate] confederation stage, in which the two Koreas coexist under separate systems,” the ministry told the press. “Claims that [the document] contradicts the Constitution are a distortion of the facts."
This year's paper also made a complete U-turn on the Sept. 19 inter-Korean military agreement, a 2018 pact between the two Koreas designed to reduce border tensions by restricting military activities near the demilitarized zone. Last year, the government announced that the deal was effectively dead, describing it as “null and void due to [North Korea's] continued violations and [its] declaration of dissolution in November 2023.” This year, the paper struck a different tone: “The restoration of the Sept. 19 military agreement will ease military tensions and build trust between the two Koreas.”
There has been no inter-Korean human exchange or economic exchange in the last five years.
North Korea revised its constitution to remove all references to unification and cut off remaining ties with its southern counterpart, doubling down on its two-state policy since January 2024.
The white paper is set to be distributed to government agencies, civic groups, research institutions and public libraries. It will also be available on the Ministry of Unification's website.
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.
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