Minister Jeong Dong-yeong of the Ministry of Unification said on the 25th that North Korea's uranium centrifuges are continuing to operate even at this hour, adding, "We estimate more than 90% of (North Korea's) highly enriched uranium stockpile at up to 2,000 kg," and said, "Giving up North Korea's nuclear program through sanctions? There is no possibility."
Minister Jeong made the remarks at a media briefing held at the government complex in Seoul, noting that President Lee Jae-myung emphasized North Korea's three-stage denuclearization (halt → reduction → dismantlement) in his keynote speech during the high-level week of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Minister Jeong said, "Even with just 5–6 kg of plutonium, you can make one nuclear bomb," pointing out that an enormous number of nuclear weapons could be made with 2,000 kg of highly enriched uranium that can be dedicated to plutonium use. Jeong said the remarks were based on estimates by experts, including the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).
At the same time, Minister Jeong said, "A halt (to North Korea's nuclear development) is an urgent matter," and criticized that "as the Yoon Suk-yeol administration shouted 'advance of freedom to the North' and 'main enemy' for three years while insisting on prior denuclearization, it has expanded North Korea's nuclear capabilities infinitely," adding that a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations depends on whether a U.S.-North Korea summit comes together.
That day, Minister Jeong reaffirmed the position that the two Koreas are, in practical terms, two states, while saying this does not mean permanent division.
Minister Jeong said, "(The two Koreas are) in effect two states, already two states, two states in terms of international law," adding, "As few as 50–60% of the public answer that North Korea is a state. The reality is that a majority of the public recognizes (North Korea) as a state." However, he argued, "Saying there are two states, recognizing (North Korea's) statehood, does not mean permanent division. It is a realistic, practical perspective and a flexible view of inter-Korean relations." He continued, "It is recognizing statehood within a special relationship that has arisen in the provisional process toward unification."
Minister Jeong has recently advocated a "peaceful two-state theory." As criticism emerged that this meant giving up unification by responding to North Korea's "two-state theory," he rebutted that recognizing North Korea's statehood does not mean abandoning unification.
Minister Jeong's two-state theory also conflicts with what National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac said at a roundtable in New York on the 23rd (local time), that "the government does not support or recognize the two-state theory." Two senior foreign and security officials have presented divergent views on the "two-state theory."
On this point, Minister Jeong called it "a fruitless debate," and emphasized, "As the president has made clear, the practical task before us is how to restore dialogue and exchanges, and how to complete the long-held dream of cross-recognition by the four major powers to achieve U.S.-North Korea normalization and Japan-North Korea normalization."