Former South Korean Minister of Unification Jeong Se-hyun speaks during International Convention for Peace and Prosperity in the Asia-Pacific, in Goyang, South Korea. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 22 (Asia Today) -- Former South Korean unification ministers criticized President Lee Jae Myung's North Korea policy Monday, arguing that his national security team is continuing some of the previous administration's hard-line positions.
Jeong Se-hyun, who served as unification minister under President Kim Dae-jung, delivered the criticism at the 2026 International Korean Peninsula Forum organized by the Unification Ministry in Seoul.
The forum was held under the theme "Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula Built Together With Civil Society."
Jeong criticized a joint statement issued by South Korea and the European Union that condemned North Korea's nuclear weapons program and its military cooperation with Russia.
