President Lee Jaemyung: "Measures to Reassure the North Will Continue" [Gyeongju APEC]

President Lee Holds APEC Press Conference on November 1
Denuclearization Raised as Agenda at South Korea-China Summit
North: "Denuclearization is an impossible pipe dream"
President Lee Refers to Kim Daejung's 'Sunshine Policy'
"Sizable effort needed to change North Korea's suspicions"

Yonhap News Agency

On November 1, President Lee Jaemyung stated, "We are taking preemptive measures to enable the North to feel secure and to trust the South, even if only a little," adding, "Such efforts will continue in the future."

Serving as the chair of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), President Lee made these remarks at a press conference held at the Gyeongju Media Center in response to a question regarding his policy toward North Korea. He said, "It requires considerable effort to change the North's suspicions and confrontational mindset."

President Lee further commented, "I believe that the North's use of hostile language on various occasions is simply an expression that can emerge during the process of change," and assessed, "It seems the intensity of such expressions has significantly softened compared to the past."

Earlier, North Korea released a statement from Park Myungho, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, through the Korean Central News Agency on October 31. Vice Minister Park criticized the inclusion of denuclearization on the agenda at the South Korea-China summit, saying, "No matter how many times you bring up denuclearization, a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times, we will patiently show that it is nothing more than an impossible 'pipe dream.'"

President Lee: "True peace means making it so there is no need to fight"

Yonhap News Agency

President Lee acknowledged, "The Korean Peninsula issue is always highly complex and challenging," but emphasized, "While strong deterrence is necessary for peace and stability, in the final stage, there must always be a willingness for dialogue, compromise, and mutual prosperity."

He then explained former President Kim Daejung's 'Sunshine Policy,' adding, "I believe that creating a situation where there is no need to fight is true peace and security. I intend to put this into practice."

President Lee also called for international support and cooperation from the foreign press in attendance. He said, "The parties to the armistice agreement for the Korean War are not the Republic of Korea, but the United States and North Korea," and added, "North Korea believes it must negotiate with the United States, not South Korea, and seeks security guarantees from the United States. In reality, it acts accordingly."

President Lee continued, "Even if we try to resolve the Korean Peninsula issue through inter-Korean dialogue alone, there are clear limitations, which is why the role of the United States is crucial." He added, "Ensuring that President Donald Trump fulfills his role as a peacemaker on the Korean Peninsula is the way to secure South Korea's security and peace."