Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, left, and Foreign Minister Cho Hyun attend a session of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap
The South Korean government appears to be floating the idea of officially recognizing North Korea as a sovereign state, drawing backlash from conservatives who see the move as undermining the long-standing constitutional goal of inter-Korean reunification.
The Ministry of Unification published the Lee Jae Myung administration's first white paper on unification, Monday, and it stipulated that inter-Korean relations should shift into “a peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward reunification.”
“The government, considering the reality that the two Koreas effectively exist as two separate states, seeks to develop inter-Korean relations into one of peaceful coexistence while still pursuing reunification,” the white paper read.
The document drew immediate dispute after its release. Conservatives argued it conflicts with Article 3 of the Constitution, which defines South Korea's territory as the entire Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, affirming Seoul's claim to legitimate sovereignty over the whole peninsula with reunification as a guiding objective.
