Editorial: Korea Risks Return to Failed Moon-Era North Korea Policy Despite US Warning

The U.S. Director of National Intelligence issued a stark warning in its 2026 Annual Threat Assessment report on the 18th, stating that "North Korea has successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the entire United States." This marks the first time the DNI has characterized a North Korean ICBM test as successful since the agency began publishing the report in 2006. The DNI specified that "North Korea is investing in nuclear-capable systems to deter the United States, neutralize regional missile defense systems, and threaten targets within South Korea." The report also designated North Korea's nuclear and missile buildup, along with its conventional and cyber attack capabilities, as a "significant threat" to South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

Indeed, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un declared inter-Korean relations as "two hostile states" at a Workers' Party plenary session in 2023 and ordered preparations for "a major change." The following year, nuclear advancement was enshrined in the constitution. Over the past three years, Pyongyang has escalated military provocations by test-firing new Hwasong-18 and Hwasong-19 ICBMs and unveiling the Hwasong-20. Last year, with Russian support, North Korea declared a parallel nuclear and conventional weapons development policy. This year, it delivered new 600mm multiple rocket launchers capable of carrying nuclear warheads to its military and conducted large-scale live-fire exercises.

Despite these developments, the Ministry of Unification on the 19th moved to scrap the previous administration's Fourth Basic Plan for Inter-Korean Relations Development, which prioritized denuclearization, and prepared a Fifth Basic Plan centered on institutionalizing peaceful coexistence between the two Koreas. The Fourth Plan's goal of "North Korean denuclearization" has been replaced in the Fifth Plan with the principle of "a Korean Peninsula free of war and nuclear weapons" and the expression "resolving the North Korean nuclear issue." Once the new plan passes the Cabinet meeting, it will become the policy direction for North Korea for the next five years.

Now is the time to strengthen vigilance against North Korea. However, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has raised concerns about weakening our defensive posture by announcing plans to restore the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement, including the establishment of no-fly zones along the Military Demarcation Line. This year's Freedom Shield combined exercise between South Korea and the United States significantly reduced the number of field training exercises, leaving room for miscalculation by the North. The security control tower must chart a different course from the Moon Jae-in administration's North Korea policy, which failed due to its consistently passive approach. We must never forget, even for a moment, that the South Korea-U.S. alliance is the cornerstone of security on the Korean Peninsula.