Unification Ministry Says It Is Monitoring Public Discourse on Using North Korea's Official State Name

▲ Jang Yoon Jeong, Deputy Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification

The Ministry of Unification stated today (July 3) that it views the recent calls from religious and other sectors to refer to North Korea as "Joseon" as "part of the process of forming a national consensus on the issue of how to address North Korea's state name."

During a regular briefing at the Government Complex Seoul today, Deputy Spokesperson Jang Yoon Jeong commented on the "Declaration for Peaceful Coexistence and Mutual Respect on the Korean Peninsula," released by leaders of seven major religious denominations the previous day. She stated, "We are paying attention to the message delivered to the public by the religious community regarding the mutual use of official state names for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."

"We are also observing the trend of various sectors expressing their agreement following the announcement," Deputy Spokesperson Jang added. "We will continue to closely monitor this process and listen broadly to voices from all walks of life."

The Council of Religious Leaders of Korea held a press conference yesterday, stating that "peace begins with respecting the names of others," and argued that South and North Korea should respect and use each other's official state names for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In response, Kang Chang-il, Executive Vice-Chair of the National Unification Advisory Council, expressed his agreement in a personal statement, saying, "It is logical that if North Korea calls us the 'Republic of Korea,' we should call North Korea the 'Democratic People's Republic of Korea.'"

Previously, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young used North Korea's official state name, referring to "Korea-Joseon relations," at an academic conference co-hosted by the Ministry of Unification and the Korea Institute for National Unification in March.

He also referred to North Korea as the "Democratic People's Republic of Korea" during a special address at the 11th Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asia Security, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, on June 4.

Minister Chung has frequently raised the idea of using "Joseon" as the state name in internal ministry events and media briefings, noting that North Korea refers to the South as "Korea" or the "Republic of Korea."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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