Seoul Considers Individual Trips to North Korea in Bid to Revive Dialogue
Jul 21
1 min read
News Summary
South Korea is exploring various options to ease tensions and improve relations with North Korea, including the potential resumption of individual trips to the North, according to the unification ministry.
This consideration follows a report that President Lee Jae Myung raised the idea during a recent National Security Council meeting, prompting a government review.
These trips have been suspended since 2008, when a South Korean woman was shot and killed by North Korean soldiers at the Mount Kumgang resort.
Commentary
Amid the Kim regime's ongoing pursuit of a permanent two-state policy, the Lee government's push to improve relations with the North is more likely to benefit Kim Jong Un than to truly mend ties.
Kim is facing a deepening internal crisis, largely fueled by the influx of South Korean culture—especially among the younger generation—and any reopening of dialogue risks further eroding the regime’s ideological control.
Given these dynamics, Kim is unlikely to respond positively or sincerely. Instead, he will seek to exploit the Lee administration’s overtures, using backchannel demands to extract concessions while offering little in return.
Driven by political optics aimed at the domestic audience, President Lee may persist in his weak-handed appeals to Pyongyang, trading genuine leverage for empty peace gestures.
This approach risks weakening South Korea’s strategic footing and undermining real peace on the Korean Peninsula.
