Seoul’s foreign ministry to dissolve headquarters for North Korea peace talks



News Seoul’s foreign ministry to dissolve headquarters for North Korea peace talks Experts say change reflects Seoul’s focus on deterrence over diplomacy but express concerns about one-sided approach Jeongmin Kim \| Joon Ha Park March 8, 2024 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON Lee Do-hoon, former nuclear envoy as the head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, meeting his then-counterpart Stephen Biegun \| Image: MOFA South Korea’s foreign ministry will dissolve a division responsible for negotiating peace and denuclearization with North Korea, the ministry announced Friday, a move that experts say reflects the Yoon administration’s policy approach emphasizing military deterrence over dialogue. Under the major overhaul, the ministry will disband the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters and transfer its two bureaus dedicated to nuclear weapons and diplomacy to a new division, tentatively named the Diplomatic Strategy and Intelligence Headquarters. The head of the new division will assume similar responsibilities as the former head of the Peace Negotiation Headquarters. These include leading South Korean delegations to © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

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Seoul’s foreign ministry to dissolve headquarters for North Korea peace talks

Experts say change reflects Seoul’s focus on deterrence over diplomacy but express concerns about one-sided approach

Jeongmin Kim | Joon Ha Park March 8, 2024

Seoul’s foreign ministry to dissolve headquarters for North Korea peace talks

Lee Do-hoon, former nuclear envoy as the head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters, meeting his then-counterpart Stephen Biegun | Image: MOFA

South Korea’s foreign ministry will dissolve a division responsible for negotiating peace and denuclearization with North Korea, the ministry announced Friday, a move that experts say reflects the Yoon administration’s policy approach emphasizing military deterrence over dialogue.

Under the major overhaul, the ministry will disband the Korean Peninsula Peace Negotiation Headquarters and transfer its two bureaus dedicated to nuclear weapons and diplomacy to a new division, tentatively named the Diplomatic Strategy and Intelligence Headquarters.

The head of the new division will assume similar responsibilities as the former head of the Peace Negotiation Headquarters. These include leading South Korean delegations to

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Jeongmin Kim

Jeongmin Kim is Executive Director at Korea Risk Group, based in Seoul. She covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.

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Joon Ha Park

Joon Ha Park is a correspondent at Korea Risk Group. He has previously written on issues related to the two Koreas at The Peninsula Report, and appeared on ABC News Australia, Deutsche Welle and Monocle Radio. He specializes in offering in-depth analyses of South Korea’s defense policy, security relations and domestic politics for Korea Pro.

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