Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on the 27th that "an approach that puts complete denuclearization first, as in the past, is a reality that can no longer be sustained."
Chung made the remarks in an opening address at the 2026 Global Korea Forum (GKF), held at the Westin Josun Seoul hotel, saying that "North Korea's nuclear capability has grown 100,000-fold over the roughly 30 years since 1992." North Korea reported to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1992 that it had extracted 90 grams of plutonium, and U.S. President Donald Trump recently said the North possesses 57 nuclear weapons.
"Even at this moment, North Korea's nuclear capability is growing," Chung said. "Talks between North Korea and the United States should be extended into four-way talks involving South Korea, North Korea, the United States and China, to convert the armistice regime on the Korean Peninsula into a peace regime." He added that South Korea "should not sit still watching what the United States does, but should move proactively and actively to create space and bring about North Korea-U.S. talks."
Meanwhile, North Korea pushed back the same day in a question-and-answer statement by a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, saying U.S. policy toward the North remains hostile. Citing Washington's tentative approval of a sale of AIM-9 Sidewinder Block II air-to-air missiles to South Korea and its plan to fund North Korean human rights programs, the spokesperson called them "another case showing that hostile U.S. practices continue."
