Unification Ministry Affirms Stance on Denuclearization, Seeks Phased Solutions

SEOUL, June 19 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Friday its stance on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula remains unchanged, vowing to seek "phased, viable" solutions.

The ministry made the remarks a day after North Korea reiterated the stance of not giving up its nuclear weapons.

"The government has no change in its position to seek phased, viable solutions for denuclearization, which are mutually acceptable based on the reality," Chang Yoon-jeong, deputy spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

The previous night, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, lashed out at a Group of Seven statement released Wednesday at the summit in France, which reaffirmed their commitment to the "complete denuclearization" of North Korea under U.N. Security Council resolutions.

Kim called Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal its "core interests" and denuclearization a "line of no retreat that can never be crossed."

Jang said Kim's statement appeared to be a reiteration of a position she had already staked out earlier this month, when she similarly declared the nuclear program central to the nation's "core interests" and is nonnegotiable.

Later in the day, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said the push for North Korea's denuclearization needs a reality check on its priorities.

"If we could solve this by shouting denuclearization slogans, I would do so every day," he told reporters before attending an event in Seoul, acknowledging how hard the task has become as Pyongyang has hardened its nuclear stance.

He stressed the focus should shift to freezing North Korea's nuclear program rather than demanding its full dismantlement, echoing President Lee Jae Myung's call for a phased approach to resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

Lee called for the need to first halt Pyongyang's nuclear and missile activities before pursuing the broader goal of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.