President Yoon Suk Yeol’s unification vision aims to achieve peaceful unification with North Korea in line with the principles of the Constitution, without resorting to military aggression, his office said Monday.

During a Cabinet meeting, Yoon elaborated on the freedom-based “unification doctrine” he introduced in his Liberation Day address last week, which updates the unification vision unveiled under the Kim Young-sam administration in 1994, a senior presidential official said.

“The unification doctrine is not a new concept but is based on the Constitution,” the official quoted Yoon as saying. “Even if unification is led and guided by liberal democracy, (the president) emphasized that it will never be achieved through military aggression or any means that disrupt peace.”

President Yoon Suk Yeol (3rd from L) speaks during a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 19, 2024, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

President Yoon Suk Yeol (3rd from L) s
peaks during a Cabinet meeting held at the presidential office in Seoul on Aug. 19, 2024, in this photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Article 3 of the Constitution stipulates that the territory of the Republic of Korea includes the Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands, while Article 4 mandates that the country pursue unification and establish a peaceful unification policy based on the principles of liberal democracy.

Yoon underscored the need to pursue unification based on the Constitution to achieve “national unity,” saying past strategies driven by political ideologies have been ineffective, according to the official.

The new doctrine focuses on increasing North Koreans’ access to external information and proposes establishing an official dialogue channel between the two Koreas to discuss various issues.

So far, North Korea has not responded to Yoon’s offer for talks.

The presidential office has launched a task force to push for unification projects, including activities an
d education programs to raise awareness of North Korea’s human rights situation and the launch of a fund to support nongovernment activities.

Source: Yonhap News Agency