Potential Trump-Kim summit could discuss joint South Korea-U.S. drills, says Unification Minister Chung
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- SEO JI-EUN
- [email protected]
![South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum celebrating the 25th anniversary of the paper's founding, held on the theme of "Korea’s New Playbook: Adapting to Tomorrow" at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/8f2808cf-1516-4125-8524-6cb1fe74be7b.jpg)
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum celebrating the 25th anniversary of the paper's founding, held on the theme of "Korea’s New Playbook: Adapting to Tomorrow" at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said Thursday that a potential summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the sidelines of the upcoming APEC gathering could include discussions on Seoul-Washington "joint military exercises" as "a possible compromise."
"If President Trump visits Korea [for APEC], there is a significant possibility that he and Chairman Kim could hold a second meeting at Panmunjom," Chung said, delivering a keynote speech at a forum marking the 25th anniversary of the Korea JoongAng Daily.
Chung added that North Korea’s display of the Hwasong-20 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during its massive military parade last week was intended as "a message" to the international community and "a signal for negotiations."
“Since President Trump’s election last year, North Korea has refrained from […] provocative military actions,” Chung said. “In that sense, I sincerely hope that the upcoming APEC will serve as a window of opportunity for peace on the Korean Peninsula.”
![South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/d951e534-cfb4-44ee-875b-4bd70471d648.jpg)
South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young delivers a keynote speech at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
![Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, left, speaks to British Ambassador Colin Crooks at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/814625f9-ca07-48b0-bead-0f708ccd1a57.jpg)
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, left, speaks to British Ambassador Colin Crooks at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
He added that such a prediction was made "based on open-source information and several recent indications."
The minister explained that the public information and indications referred to past exchanges between the United States and North Korea, particularly a letter dated Aug. 5, 2019, sent by Kim during Trump's first term — one of 27 letters exchanged between the two leaders.
“No other leader in the international society that labels North Korea as a rogue state has exchanged 27 letters and held three summits with its leader,” Chung said.
![U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cross into the South after greeting each other at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/e43a7a53-0696-46b1-8139-b1243327a170.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un cross into the South after greeting each other at the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom on June 30, 2019. [YONHAP]
Kim, for his part, said during a session of North Korea’s Supreme People’s Assembly on Sept. 21 that while denuclearization would not be on the agenda, "there is no reason" for the country to avoid talks with the United States, leaving the door open for dialogue.
In response to Chung’s remarks, the Foreign Ministry told reporters later the same day that it was “not aware of any concrete developments regarding a possible U.S.–North Korea summit,” adding, “The South Korean government supports dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and remains ready to provide active assistance when necessary.”
Citing Kim's letter from Aug. 5, 2019, Chung noted that the joint military drills between South Korea and the United States could be an "agenda."
According to Chung, Kim emphasized in the roughly 1,200-word message that he had no intention to attack South Korea, questioned who the joint drills targeted, and advised that easing tensions by halting the exercises would be wiser before resuming contact.
![Czech Ambassador Ivan Jancarek, left, shakes hands with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/2f91d96a-cec4-43f5-bcab-0f1c6ba3b556.jpg)
Czech Ambassador Ivan Jancarek, left, shakes hands with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
Chung also reiterated his recent controversial comment that only three nations, China, Russia and North Korea, "currently possess intercontinental ballistic missiles capable of threatening the U.S. mainland." Such a comment, made during his recent trip to Germany at an event marking the Unity Day, sparked debate as it risked being interpreted as acknowledging North Korea as a de facto nuclear power.
At the same time, he stressed the scale of North Korea's nuclear advancement over the past three decades has grown "more than 100,000-fold." He cited data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or Sipri, that North Korea was capable of extracting only about 90 grams of plutonium in the early 1990s, but today, it possesses about 50 nuclear warheads and has effectively developed and accumulated enough fissile material to produce another 40 warheads.
Chung acknowledged that despite 33 years of international efforts, led by the United States, to resolve the nuclear issue surrounding North Korea, the outcome has been a "failure," while adding that "only by recognizing that reality can we open a new path forward."
Chung, a veteran politician and former presidential candidate, previously served as unification minister in the early 2000s. Known for his engagement-first approach toward Pyongyang, he returned to the post this year under President Lee Jae Myung, whose government seeks to revive inter-Korean dialogue while balancing Seoul’s alliance with Washington around the “END initiative” — short for engagement, normalization and denuclearization.
![Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, president, international of The New York Times, eighth from left, front row; Chung Dong-young, minister of unification, ninth from left; Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, tenth from left; James Kim, chairman and CEO of Amcham Korea, eleventh from left; and Park Jeong-moo, senior vice president of Nexon Korea, fourth from right, pose for a group photo with ambassadors and chargés d’affaires during the opening of the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/5fb47d6f-36a5-43a4-b59d-168167724793.jpg)
Stephen Dunbar-Johnson, president, international of The New York Times, eighth from left, front row; Chung Dong-young, minister of unification, ninth from left; Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, tenth from left; James Kim, chairman and CEO of Amcham Korea, eleventh from left; and Park Jeong-moo, senior vice president of Nexon Korea, fourth from right, pose for a group photo with ambassadors and chargés d’affaires during the opening of the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
“The peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue are not merely regional matters of the peninsula, and are directly linked to peace and stability in Northeast Asia and the world as a whole," Chung said in answer to a question asked by Mongolian Ambassador Sukhee Sukhbold. "We are already witnessing this, as North Korea’s troop dispatch to Russia has become a growing concern for the European Union.
"We ask for the international community’s continued interest and participation," he added.
![Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, delivers his opening remarks at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/949cc507-197e-4e9a-9cb8-8431560fc4ca.jpg)
Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, delivers his opening remarks at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
“With North Korea’s growing nuclear arsenal, possibly posing a threat even to the U.S. mainland, the South Korean government faces the important task of trying to de-escalate tensions on the peninsula before the situation deteriorates to the point of no return,” Park said.
Expressing his gratitude to Chung, Park added that while some of Chung’s ideas — such as potentially acknowledging North Korea’s nuclear capabilities or a constitutionally sensitive idea of viewing the two Koreas as coexisting states — have sparked controversy, they continue to play a vital role in shaping the public debate.
![Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, left, shakes hands with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/10/16/f3f89fda-e691-42fd-9642-4fd8eda9105d.jpg)
Park Chang-hee, CEO of the JoongAng Ilbo and Korea JoongAng Daily, left, shakes hands with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young at the 2025 Korea JoongAng Daily Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Oct. 16. [PARK SANG-MOON]
BY SEO JI-EUN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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