Category: Inter-Korean Issues

Notice how this is currently one sided appeasement because the North Koreans have not indicated whether they will comply with the no fly zone that South Korea is implementing. Additionally I am still waiting for the North Koreans to apologize for their drone incursions into South Korea which will likely never happen:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young speaks to reporters at a press briefing on Feb. 18, 2026. (Yonhap)

South Korea will seek to reinstate a no-fly zone over the border with North Korea under the suspended 2018 inter-Korean military pact aimed at easing tensions, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday. 

Chung disclosed the plan at a press briefing after expressing regret earlier this month over drones sent into North Korea by South Korean civilians, which the North denounced as a violation of its sovereignty.

“In cooperation with our military authorities, (the government) will preemptively review and seek to reinstate the September 19 inter-Korean military pact, including the designation of a no-fly zone,” Chung said. 

The minister said the action is aimed at preventing any unintended military clash and building trust between the two militaries.

The no-fly zone under the 2018 pact prohibits the operation of planes and drones within 15 kilometers of the Demilitarized Zone in eastern areas and 10 km in western parts.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

So when is North Korea going to apologize for their drone and balloon incursions into South Korea?:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Tuesday expressed regret over a recent alleged drone incursion into North Korea by a South Korean civilian, marking the first expression of regret regarding the incident by a senior government official.

“I express deep regret to North Korea over the reckless drone intrusion that occurred recently,” Chung said during a congratulatory message delivered at a Mass for national reconciliation and unity at Seoul’s Myeongdong Cathedral.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

No matter how many times the Kim regime tells the Korean left no to engagement they will never believe they really mean it:

North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong-un, late Tuesday dismissed prospects for improving inter-Korean relations, rejecting the South Korean government’s assessment that her earlier remarks left room for engagement and calling such expectations a “daydream.” 
  
“As far as Seoul’s various hope-filled wild dreams called ‘repair of DPRK-ROK relations’ are concerned, they all can never come true,” Kim said in an English-language statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA). “The present address of the DPRK-ROK relations can never change.” 
  
DPRK refers to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, North Korea’s official name, while ROK stands for the Republic of Korea, South Korea’s official designation.  
  
Her remarks were widely seen as a reiteration of Pyongyang’s stance to maintain a severance of inter-Korean ties based on Kim Jong-un’s doctrine of “two hostile states,” which frames the two Koreas as separate and adversarial countries rather than counterparts in a divided nation.

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more at the link, but the Kim regime only seeks engagement to extract concessions which they don’t need right now because the Russians are providing for all their needs.

I doubt the Lee administration flew these drones so it is likely civilians that flew them. Even if they are civilian drones, this shows North Korea has poor defenses against drones:

 Cheong Wa Dae on Sunday reaffirmed that South Korea has no intention of provoking or irritating North Korea, after Pyongyang again blamed the South for drone incursions into the North and demanded an explanation. 

In a statement, the Office of National Security at Cheong Wa Dae said, “The government once again confirms that it has no intention of provoking or irritating the North side.”

“The government will look into the latest drone incident through a joint military-police probe and promptly disclose its results,” the office said, also pledging continued efforts to ease inter-Korean tension and build trust. 

On Sunday, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called on Seoul to provide a detailed explanation, a day after the North Korean military claimed that the South violated the North’s sovereignty by sending drones in September and on Jan. 4. 

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what they end up talking about when North Korea is currently having all their needs provided by the Russians:

President Lee Jae Myung and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday shared the view on the importance of resuming dialogue with North Korea and agreed to explore measures for peace on the Korean Peninsula, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said.

During their summit in Beijing, Lee underscored the importance of bilateral cooperation for peace as North Korea ratcheted up tensions by launching ballistic missiles on Sunday morning just hours before his arrival in the Chinese capital for a state visit.

“The two leaders underscored the importance of resuming dialogue with North Korea,” Wi told reporters, adding that Lee and Xi would continue to seek “creative measures to establish peace” on the Korean Peninsula.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

Notice that the ROK government did not completely rule out the possibility that indirect talks may be going on with North Korea which is using the joint drills as leverage:

South Korea is not considering adjusting its joint military drills with the United States as part of efforts to resume stalled talks with North Korea, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said Sunday.

Wi made the remarks when asked whether Seoul might review the regular exercises with Washington to help revive inter-Korean dialogue, as Pyongyang has dismissed Seoul’s overtures since President Lee Jae Myung’s first six months in office.

“If we are to resume dialogue, we need to consider what cards we can use. While there are many possible options, we are not directly considering using the Korea-U.S. joint exercises as a card,” Wi said during a press briefing.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

If former President Moon could not get these people back after all the appeasement he did with North Korea, how does President Lee think he can get them released?:

The presidential office on Thursday confirmed that six South Korean nationals have been detained in North Korea and vowed to make efforts to secure the release of them by swiftly resuming talks with Pyongyang. 

The six citizens, including three North Koreans who had defected to South Korea, have been held in the North on charges of espionage and others since between 2013 and 2016.

They include three missionaries arrested by the North Korean authorities from 2013 and 2014, namely Kim Jung-wook, Kim Kook-kie and Choi Chun-gil. The presidential office did not disclose the identities of the three North Korean defectors to protect the safety of their families in the North.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

To restore communications with North Korea will require South Korea to make concessions of some kind. When Lee uses wording such as “shared growth”, that is likely code for whatever monetary concessions the ROK government plans to give to North Korea to restore these communcations:

President Lee Jae Myung proposed restoring communication channels with North Korea on Tuesday, saying it will serve as a starting point for “peaceful coexistence” between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Lee made the remarks during an event to mark the launch of the 22th Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, stressing that unification is a path that must be taken regardless of whether it takes decades or even a millennia.

“The historic task given to us is to end hostility and confrontation between the two Koreas, and to build a new inter-Korean relationship based on peaceful existence,” Lee said, suggesting the Koreas begin by restoring their dialogue channels that have been suspended for seven years.

He stressed the need for “shared growth” that benefits both Seoul and Pyongyang, and called for gradual efforts to start cooperation in areas of global interest, such as climate and environmental issues, disaster, safety, and public health.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.

Reunification of the Korean peninsula at this point will only happen on the terms of the Kim regime in North Korea. The Kim regime will never agree to reunification on the South’s terms:

 President Lee Jae Myung said Sunday reunification with North Korea remains South Korea’s ultimate goal and a constitutional duty, vowing to pursue it through dialogue rather than unilateral action.

Lee, in Johannesburg for the Group of 20 summit, made the remarks in a written interview with Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, published ahead of his state visit to Ankara.

“Reunification remains our ultimate goal and is not merely an ideal but a constitutional duty. Our government will not pursue reunification through a unilateral approach,” Lee said in the translated interview. 

“Our government seeks gradual and phased reunification through peaceful coexistence and mutual development, reflecting the democratic will of all people on the Korean Peninsula,” he added.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but as long as the Kim regime remains in power there will never be reunification “reflecting the democratic will of all people on the Korean Peninsula” when there is no democracy in North Korea. If Lee really wanted reunification he would be working to undermine the Kim regime and sustain it. The ROK had its chance 20-30 years ago to seek reunification on their terms and instead the Korean left pushed the Sunshine Policy that sustained the Kim regime and led to the nuclear threat they now face.

South Korea can pretend there is a peaceful two state framework, but North Korea can’t. The need to free South Korea from American imperialism is part of the Kim regime’s ideology to justify their rule. Giving that up without taking over South Korea could question the legitimacy of the Kim family’s rule:

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday that South Korea will seek to transform North Korea’s “hostile two-state” framework into a “peaceful two-state” arrangement, describing it as a transitional stage on the path toward eventual unification.

Speaking at the Global Korea Forum hosted by the ministry in Seoul, Chung said South Korea will continue pursuing rapprochement with Pyongyang despite the North’s frosty response, calling dialogue the most effective means of reducing hostilities.

“Even if North Korea continues to uphold the two-state theory, there is no justification for maintaining hostility,” he said in an opening speech. “The main focus should first be on ending this hostility. The alternative is to transform the hostile two-state framework into a de facto peaceful two-state framework. This is the core of our policy toward North Korea.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.