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Chung Dong-young, a member of the National Assembly, delivers a congratulatory speech at the launch ceremony for the second phase of the Physical AI Alliance held at The Plaza Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on June 19. / Photo by Yonhap News

Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young evaluated on June 22 that the interpretation viewing US President Donald Trump’s recent social media photo with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un as the restart of top-level letter diplomacy between Washington and Pyongyang makes sense.

"Professor Lee Jung-chul of Seoul National University offered an impressive analysis that Leader Kim's personal letter arrived in the US on the occasion of President Trump’s birthday, and President Trump posted the photo in response," Minister Chung said during his opening remarks at the 2026 Global Korea Forum hosted by the Ministry of Unification. "I find that interpretation quite plausible."

Reflecting on past diplomacy, the minister remarked, "The collapse of the Hanoi Summit in February 2018 ultimately spelled failure for Washington's policy toward the Korean Peninsula, Pyongyang's policy toward the US, and our own government's role as a mediator. Looking back at that painful period, the clock on the Korean Peninsula would look vastly different today had an agreement been reached instead of the Hanoi 'no deal.' It is my sincere hope that Washington-Pyongyang contacts and dialogue will be reactivated."

Chung also emphasized the ideological direction of the current administration, stating, "We must faithfully inherit the peaceful legacy built by past democratic administrations, including the dilemmas and philosophies of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, as well as the paths forged by the Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung administrations. This administration will never inherit the hostile and confrontational policies of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration; those must be liquidated."

The 2026 Global Korea Forum, organized by the ministry, opened today at the Korea Banks Federation Building in Seoul and will run for two days through June 23.

The forum is structured around a special panel discussion and five distinct sessions: Lessons and Tasks of the Democratic Administrations' Peace Legacy; Inter-Korean Relations for Coexistence and Peace Proposed by Civil Society; Seeking Multilateral Cooperation to Resume Inter-Korean Humanitarian Collaboration; The Role of Women's Peace Diplomacy for Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula; and The North Korea-China-Russia Trilateral Relationship and Pathways to Establishing Peace on the Korean Peninsula.

                                                                                                            Mok Yong-jae