Members of a South Korean association of over 950 North Korean studies experts said Seoul should refer to the North using its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), to promote peace on the peninsula.

“There is growing discussion within the government, academia and civil society about using North Korea’s official name at a critical juncture for opening a new path in inter-Korean relations, following the Kim Jong Un regime’s declaration of the two Koreas as hostile states,” Suh Bo-hyuk, president of the Korean Association of North Korean Studies (KANKS), said during a seminar hosted by the group