South Korean experts split over Lee Jae Myung's dialogue push amid North Korea's nuclear expansion

June 18 (UPI) -- South Korean security experts split sharply Wednesday over President Lee Jae Myung's push for inter-Korean dialogue, with some warning that engagement without stronger deterrence could leave Seoul vulnerable to nuclear coercion, and others arguing that dialogue remains the only way to reach the North Korean people directly.

The debate unfolded as North Korea continues to expand its nuclear arsenal and has formally abandoned its longstanding commitment to peaceful unification with the South. It came days after South Korea and the European Union issued a joint statement condemning Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs and its military cooperation with Russia, and after Lee asked U.S. President Donald Trump to take a leading role in resolving the North Korean issue during the Group of Seven summit in France.

The discussion took place at 5:30 p.m. at the Seoul Club on the 18th floor of the Korea Press Center in central Seoul, at a conference titled "Unification Discourse Must Be Critically Examined." About 50 people attended the event, co-hosted by the Korea Institute for Peace and Cooperation and the unification education program at Sook myung Women's University.

Son Gi-woong, president of the institute and a former head of the Korea Institute for National Unification, moderated the discussion.

Yoo Ho-yeol, chairman of the Unification Preparation Research Institute, argued that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's declaration of a "hostile two-state" relationship reflected not only confidence in his nuclear arsenal but also anxiety that outside information and South Korean culture were eroding the regime's control over its population.

"South Korea's primary concern should be the North Korean people, not the Kim government," Yoo said.

Cho Gab-je, president of Chogabje.com, took a more skeptical view of dialogue, warning that engagement without stronger deterrence could expose South Korea to nuclear coercion. Cho said Pyongyang could launch a conventional attack and then threaten nuclear escalation to limit Seoul's response options.

Lee Myung-kwon, standing representative of the K-Peace and Unification Alliance, voiced support for dialogue but said it should be paired with deterrence rather than pursued alone. He proposed a phased approach that would include a suspension of North Korea's long-range missile tests, monitoring of its nuclear facilities and selective sanctions relief, without formally recognizing North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state. Lee also pointed to South Korea's own policy inconsistency as a major obstacle to progress, noting that Seoul's approach toward Pyongyang has swung between engagement and pressure with each change of government, making lasting trust difficult to build.

Hong Kyu-dok, a professor at Sook myung Women's University who has taught there for about two decades and previously served as South Korea's ambassador to Hungary, called for Seoul to strengthen its capabilities in artificial intelligence, surveillance and precision-strike systems. He also argued that South Korea should maintain a clear, public stance against North Korea's military cooperation with Russia in order to preserve support from European partners.

Turning to public opinion at home, Hong said one of the biggest challenges is explaining the case for unification to younger South Koreans. University students, he said, respond far more strongly to meetings with young North Korean defectors than to lectures from senior officials or academics.

"Students need to encounter North Koreans not as an abstract group but as individuals with distinct lives and perspectives," Hong said.

He called for unification education to be incorporated into regular university curricula and backed by stable, long-term funding.

In closing remarks, Son cited Germany as an example of how peaceful unification can depend on ordinary people making informed political choices over time. "The driving force of unification is the hearts of the North Korean people," he said.

Son placed primary responsibility for the breakdown of inter-Korean trust on North Korea's pursuit of nuclear weapons despite earlier denuclearization agreements. At the same time, he argued, South Korea bears its own responsibility: to become a society that North Koreans can trust and would voluntarily choose.

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This story was originally published June 18, 2026 at 5:07 PM.