Former Swedish Envoy to North Korea Suggests Renaming Unification Ministry to 'Ministry of Neighborly Relations'

Kent Härstedt, the former Swedish Special Envoy for the Korean Peninsula who supported North Korea-U.S. dialogues, including the 2019 working-level talks in Stockholm, has suggested that South Korea should change the role and approach of its Ministry of Unification.
Speaking at a session of the Jeju Forum held at the Haevichi Hotel in Jeju on June 26, he proposed establishing a Ministry of Neighborly Relations to replace the current Ministry of Unification.
Härstedt described the proposed ministry as an organization that would manage relations between two states, maintain communication, reduce the risk of accidental conflict, and build trust.
His suggestion comes as North Korea emphasizes a relationship between two states rather than unification, implying that South Korea also needs to rethink its institutional framework for engaging with the North.
He argued, "South Korea has long held unification as a national goal, but North Korea has already changed that calculation. It might be more productive to focus on how to manage the relationship between two neighboring countries with different systems rather than on unification."
He further explained, "This does not mean South Korea should cater to North Korea, but that there is a need to modernize institutions to fit the changed reality."
He added, "Germany also saw the two states of East and West Germany coexist for a long time before unification was achieved. While nothing is impossible in the long term, we need to rethink whether the current institutional framework is suitable for facilitating dialogue in reality."
However, the idea of restructuring the Ministry of Unification to focus on coexistence and crisis management rather than unification has been a point of contention within South Korea.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stated during his confirmation hearing in July last year that changing the name of the ministry was worth considering. In May of this year, the inclusion of the phrase "peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward unification" in the Unification White Paper reignited debates over its consistency with the constitutional principle of pursuing unification.
At the time, opinions were divided between those who viewed it as a realistic strategy for peaceful coexistence to manage changed inter-Korean relations rather than abandoning unification, and critics who argued it could weaken the constitutional principle of pursuing unification.
Article 3 of the Constitution states, "The territory of the Republic of Korea shall consist of the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands," and Article 4 stipulates, "The Republic of Korea shall seek unification and shall establish and carry out a policy of peaceful unification based on the principles of freedom and democracy."
Ultimately, analysts suggest the key lies in how to harmonize the need for realistic management of inter-Korean relations, considering North Korea's changed stance, with the constitutional principle of pursuing unification.
Meanwhile, the session also featured discussions on North Korea-U.S. negotiations, with experts suggesting that empowered working-level talks, rather than summits between leaders, would determine the success or failure of negotiations.
Alex Wong, former Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor, evaluated the Singapore Joint Statement as the first document in which the leaders of North Korea and the U.S. agreed on denuclearization, but pointed out the limitation that working-level negotiations had not progressed sufficiently.
Wong served as the Deputy Special Representative for North Korea at the State Department and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs during the first Trump administration, where he handled working-level negotiations with North Korea.
He said, "The U.S. formed a negotiation team involving experts from all government departments and was clearly delegated authority by U.S. President Donald Trump, but North Korea did not."
He recalled, "There was no working-level negotiator in North Korea delegated with the authority to represent the entire government. As a result, it was difficult to pre-arrange specific measures for the leaders to agree upon, and the summits ended up being too leader-centric."
He added, "If negotiations resume, the North Korean working-level delegation must be granted more substantive authority. Only then can it lead to productive summits."
Härstedt also noted, "When negotiations begin, we should not think only of summits. The actual important work happens at the working level, and the leaders only sign the final important documents and make final decisions."
He emphasized, "Ultimately, what is needed is not just summits, but working-level talks, continuous communication channels, and various consultation channels involving think tanks, international organizations, and North-South and North Korea-U.S. relations."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.