Unification Minister: Korea-US Drills Are Means, Not End Goal

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Wednesday that joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States are "a means, not an end goal," emphasizing that Korean Peninsula policy and inter-Korean relations fall within the realm of national sovereignty.

"While close coordination between South Korea and the U.S. is important, Korean Peninsula policy and inter-Korean relations are matters of sovereignty," Chung said at a press briefing held at Sono Calm in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

"Korea-U.S. joint military exercises are necessary to strengthen our defense readiness and recover wartime operational control, but the exercises themselves are only a means to achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula, not an end goal," he added.

Chung noted that the suspension of Team Spirit exercises in 1992 and 1994 had a significant impact on progress in North Korean nuclear negotiations at the time, and the postponement of Korea-U.S. joint exercises in 2018 "brought spring to the Korean Peninsula."

"North Korea's nuclear capabilities rapidly advanced during the period when sanctions and pressure against the North were accelerated," Chung said. "It is urgent to halt the Yongbyon reactor, which is still operating at this very moment."

He pointed to the recent U.S. National Security Strategy and China's arms control white paper, neither of which mentioned North Korea, saying "there is analysis that this could be a strategy to open the door for dialogue with the North."

Regarding the "peaceful two-state theory oriented toward unification," Chung said that characterizing it as "abandoning unification" is "too political," adding that he believes there is already a national consensus on the matter.

On perceived discord among ministries handling North Korea policy, Chung said the Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Ministry of Unification each have different perspectives and viewpoints, asking people to understand that "each ministry is doing its job."

"If the Trump administration's core principle is 'America First,' our government and the Ministry of Unification stand for 'Peace First,'" he said.