The first unification white paper of the Lee Jae-myung administration specified "a peaceful two-state relationship" as a policy goal.
On the 18th, the Ministry of Unification wrote in chapter 1, "A policy for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula," of the unification white paper that "in response to North Korea's claim of a 'hostile two-state relationship,' a shift to 'a peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward unification' is necessary."
It added that "a 'peaceful two-state relationship oriented toward unification' focuses on easing the distrust and threats felt by North Korea through reducing tensions between the South and the North, and on institutionalizing peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula."
The "peaceful two-state theory" is something Minister Chung Dong-young of the Ministry of Unification has repeatedly stressed as necessary, but this is the first time it has been specified in the government's official document, the unification white paper.
In a media notice the same day, the Ministry of Unification also explained that the expression that "the South and the North are in effect two states" "inherits the position of successive administrations that respected each other's political reality while recognizing their special relationship."
However, controversy is expected, as concerns over the unconstitutionality of the two-state theory have been consistently raised. Referring to the South and the North as "two states" would violate the Constitution, which defines the territory of the Republic of Korea as "the entire Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands."
The unification white paper also showed changes in terminology. Instead of the expression "North Korea's denuclearization" used in the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's unification white paper, the terms "a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula" and "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" were used again.
There were also large differences in term frequency between last year's and this year's unification white papers. "Peace" or "peaceful coexistence" increased from 108 to 627 mentions, while "North Korean human rights" fell from 288 to 47.