South Korea's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said on Thursday, 20 August that direct dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang is the essential first step toward halting North Korea's nuclear weapons programme. He made the remarks while addressing reporters at the government complex in Seoul, as speculation mounts that US President Donald Trump may seek to revive personal diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

What the Unification Minister Said

"The first gateway to stopping North Korea's nuclear programme is a meeting between the two sides, and we should work hard to support it," Chung said. He added, "Halting the programme is in the best interest of everyone involved."

Chung expressed hope that "the momentum between the two sides gets on track and expands into a framework" that eventually draws in South Korea and China as well — signalling Seoul's intent to be part of any emerging diplomatic architecture rather than a bystander.

Trump's Overture and Kim Yo-jong's Response

Trump reiterated on Wednesday (US time) that he maintains good relations with Kim Jong-un and stated he intends to meet the North Korean leader later this year, though he offered no further details. The remarks rekindled memories of the three bilateral summits the two leaders held during Trump's first term.

Hours later, Kim Yo-jong — the North Korean leader's powerful sister and a senior policy voice in Pyongyang — issued a statement that appeared to cool expectations. She called the reduction in South Korea-US joint military exercises "unworthy of comment," and said she was "not aware of" any direct communication between her brother and Trump. Yet she notably added that "our head of state has good memories and feelings about Trump personally" — a formulation that separates personal rapport from official policy hostility, and is widely read as leaving the door ajar.

Chung said it was "up to each person to interpret" Kim Yo-jong's statement, declining to characterise it as a flat rejection.

The Korean War Peace Treaty Question

South Korea's Unification Ministry stated that "the top priority is formally ending the war and establishing a peace regime, so the two sides do not have to fight each other." The 1950–1953 Korean War concluded with an armistice agreement, not a peace treaty — a legal ambiguity that has shadowed peninsula politics for more than seven decades.

On Saturday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, in his Liberation Day address, proposed that the two Koreas begin formal talks on ending the war and constructing a lasting peace regime on the peninsula — a proposal that aligns closely with the framework Chung outlined Thursday.

What Comes Next

Any substantive US-North Korea engagement would mark a significant shift from the current stalemate, in which Pyongyang has accelerated missile and nuclear tests while rejecting multilateral frameworks. Analysts note that Trump's transactional style could open a narrow window, but Kim Yo-jong's careful wording suggests Pyongyang will demand concrete concessions — particularly on military exercises — before committing to a summit. Seoul and Beijing's eventual inclusion, as Chung envisioned, would be a later-stage development contingent on early bilateral progress.