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OpinionAsia Opinion
Gabriela Bernal
Opinion
Gabriela Bernal

What Seoul must do to achieve peaceful coexistence with North Korea

South Korea needs to restore communication channels, end the policy see-saw and ensure official rhetoric is consistent with policy objectives

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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung salutes the national flag at the first plenary meeting of the National Economic Advisory Council, at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, on April 9. Photo: EPA/Yonhap
Gabriela Bernal
Dr Gabriela Bernal is a North Korea analyst based in Seoul, South Korea.

South Korea has made peaceful coexistence the central objective of its North Korea policy. As outlined in a recent white paper, Seoul has not formally abandoned reunification but has chosen to prioritise the more immediate and achievable objective of establishing a stable framework for coexistence.

The document articulates three guiding principles: respect for North Korea’s political system, rejection of unification by absorption, and avoidance of hostile actions. Underscoring the urgency of this approach, the foreword notes: “Peace on the Korean peninsula is not a choice for us, but a lifeline.”

At first glance, peaceful coexistence appears more realistic than reunification, a goal Pyongyang abandoned years ago. Yet coexistence should not be mistaken for an easy objective. While North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme is often portrayed as the principal obstacle to peace, more immediate risks stem from other issues, including the absence of communication mechanisms, Seoul’s inconsistent North Korea policy and an increasingly unstable status quo.

The most urgent challenge is the collapse of the inter-Korean communication architecture.

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