* On December 16, 2025, South Korean civil society organizations, including the Citizens’ Peace Forum, held a press conference in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, opposing the ‘ROK–U.S. North Korea Policy Coordination Consultative Body.’ ⓒ Citizens’ Peace Forum Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University “Ah … the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making the Korean Peninsula issue even more complicated.” That was my first reaction upon reading the news that South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was pushing for high-level talks with the United States to coordinate policy toward North Korea. In the end, the Ministry of Unification — the government body primarily responsible for North Korea policy — announced it would not participate in the talks, citing the Foreign Ministry’s overreach. Former unification ministers and civil society organizations also opposed the launch of the consultative body, warning that it would become...
* On July 31, 2025, South Korea's Foreign Minister, Park Hyun, is shaking hands with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio during the Korea-U.S. Foreign Ministers' Meeting in the United States. ⓒ Ministry of Foreign Affairs Il Young Jeong Senior Research Fellow_Institute of Social Science_Sogang University South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sparked controversy by pushing to establish a regular policy coordination meeting with the United States on North Korea policy. At a regular press briefing on December 9, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Park Il stated that the government is working the convening of a “regular ROK – U.S. policy coordination meeting (TF)” to discuss “overall North Korea policy, including measures for engagement with North Korea.” The Lee Jae-myung government has declared itself a government of popular sovereignty and has emphasized a North Korea policy based on the sovereignty of the people. Yet the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — rather than the mini...