South Korea pushes for US-North Korea summit to become four-party peace talks

At a lecture during the Herald Global Business Forum, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young called for the pending US-North Korea summit to be broadened into a four-party conference with China, South Korea and North Korea. He argued that the 1950-53 armistice is a fragile, temporary arrangement that must be replaced by a permanent peace regime. Chung said the expanded talks could also tackle the halt of North Korea’s nuclear development, deepen economic ties, and revive the Kaesong industrial complex, which has been closed since 2016.

He promoted a "de facto unification" approach, urging the two Koreas to increase cross-border travel and trade while leaving formal political reunification to future generations. The proposal aligns with speculation that President Donald Trump may meet Kim Jong-un during his upcoming trip to China for the APEC summit in Shenzhen. Chung highlighted the humanitarian urgency for separated families and suggested that combining South Korea’s capital and technology with North Korea’s labor and resources could boost the South’s economy.