Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the restoration of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement is "the government's official policy." The Presidential Office also said it would "review and pursue various measures to build military trust between the two Koreas." The Presidential Office and the government appear to be working to contain the situation following recent reports that the government's push to restore the 9·19 agreement had stalled.
According to the Ministry of Unification on Thursday, Chung met with reporters after attending the opening ceremony of Peace and Unification Education Week the previous day. Asked whether efforts to restore the 9·19 agreement would be halted, he stressed that "the government's position remains unchanged."
President Lee Jae-myung formalized his plan to preemptively restore the 9·19 inter-Korean military agreement in his Liberation Day address last year. As part of that effort, the government decided to first pursue the restoration of the no-fly zone. However, a report the previous day said that inter-agency reviews and consultations with the United Nations Command for this purpose had been completely halted.
"The president's August 15 Liberation Day speech represents the government's official policy, and that policy has not changed," Chung emphasized.
Asked whether such measures would be effective given that North Korea has solidified its "two hostile states" stance, Chung said, "If the Yoon Suk-yeol administration were still in power, would the North's Naegohyang Women's Football Club have come to the South?" He added, "We are doing what we have to do—steadily rebuilding the trust that has crumbled, moving beyond hostility and confrontation."
The Presidential Office also addressed the matter the previous day, saying, "It is difficult to confirm specific review details or consultation matters," but added that it would "review and pursue various measures to build military trust between the two Koreas while maintaining a firm military readiness posture and the South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture."
