“The North Korean nuclear threat must be lowered step by step rather than a comprehensive agreement on denuclearization first.”

In order to resume dialogue between North Korea and the United States, an expert suggested that we should focus on an intermediate agreement that gradually reduces nuclear and missile threats rather than a comprehensive agreement premised on North Korea's first denuclearization.

Lee Jeong-cheol, a professor at Seoul National University, said this while presenting a 'three-step promotion strategy for stable peaceful coexistence' in a presentation at the monthly debate held by the Korean Peninsula Peace Forum at the Roh Moo-hyun Citizen Center in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 21st under the theme of 'North Korea-US negotiations and Korea's role'.

Professor Lee evaluated U.S. President Donald Trump's order to suspend ROK-U.S. joint exercises as "the most dramatic 'high-cost signal' showing the will for dialogue" and said, "South Korea should take preemptive measures to prime trust and support North Korea-U.S. negotiations that build up small agreements step by step."

He analyzed the statement by North Korean Workers' Party General Affairs Director Kim Yo-jong, who denied the rumor of sending troops to Russia, "to remove one of the obstacles to the North Korea-U.S. meeting and to request a position on the exercises in March next year," adding, "It is a request to show sincerity that President Trump's proposal for a meeting is not just an event for his midterm elections."

Professor Lee suggested that as a three-step strategy for stable peaceful coexistence, South Korea first builds trust through a comprehensive peace declaration and unilateral preemptive action, and as an intermediate step, exchanges the suspension of North Korea's nuclear advancement and partial lifting of sanctions.

In the final stage, it was also proposed that intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) testing should be halted, negotiations on dismantling the decapitation operation, diplomatic relations between North Korea and Japan should be established, and a multilateral security system should be promoted so that it cannot be reversed even if the regime changes.

Professor Lee diagnosed that “since North Korea’s possession of more than 50 nuclear weapons is recognized, denuclearization first is not realistic,” and suggested, “risk reduction and arms control should be prioritized, and small measures should be collected and agreed upon in stages.”

At the same time, he emphasized, "To prevent accidental clashes in the border area from escalating into war, the restoration of the September 19 military agreement and the establishment of 'guardrails' through direct negotiations between South and North Korea and the United States must be carried out in parallel."

At the debate on this day, Min Tae-eun, senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, Chung-Ang University professor Lee Hye-jeong, and Yonhap News reporter Jang Yong-hoon appeared as discussants.