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South Korean Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon (front row, fourth from right) and former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won (front row, third from right) and former Unification Minister Jung Se-hyun (back row, second from right) attend an academic conference commemorating the 18th anniversary of the June 15 Inter-Korean Summit at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 14. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)
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Conference for 18th anniversary of June 15 Inter-Korean Summit reflects on paths toward peace
“North Korean leader Kim Jong-un appears to have made up his mind to give up nuclear weapons and choose the path of prosperity, development and a greater quality of life for the public over the poverty brought by the burden of nuclear weapons. We need to help North Korea change so that we can transition into a win-win game,” said former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won, the architect of the June 15 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration, on June 14. “We have been given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reverse the course of history and reenergize the peace process on the Korean Peninsula,” Lim said during a congratulatory address at an academic conference commemorating the 18th anniversary of the June 15 Inter-Korean Summit. The conference was held in the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on June 14. “Trading North Korea’s denuclearization for a security guarantee from the US will provide the momentum for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Lim said. “Just because denuclearization is carried out and North Korea-US relations are improved does not guarantee peace on the Korean Peninsula. Along with denuclearization and improving North Korea-US relations, we must keep working to dismantle the Cold War structure and build a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula,” Lim argued. “After the North Korea-US summit, conditions on the Korean Peninsula are bound to change rapidly. If the Cold War alignment in Northeast Asia is dismantled, the division of the Korean Peninsula will necessarily collapse as well,” said Jeong Se-hyun, director of the Korea Peace Forum, in his welcome address. “The world-historical transition that we are currently experiencing began with the June 15 Inter-Korean Summit,” said Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon during his congratulatory address. “We will work on reinforcing a virtuous cycle in which developing inter-Korean relations promotes peace and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and progress in North Korea-US relations while progress on denuclearization and North Korea-US relations takes inter-Korean relations to the next level. I intend to put my heart and soul into this, recognizing that this may be the last opportunity to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Cho said. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
