President Lee Jae-myung delivers a keynote address at the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 (local time). / Yonhap News

In his keynote address to the United Nations General Assembly on September 23 (local time), President Lee Jae-myung declared, “Through the ‘E·N·D Initiative,’ we will end the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula and fulfill our responsibility to contribute to world peace.” “E·N·D” stands for Exchange, Normalization, and Denuclearization. If the previously proposed three-stage approach to denuclearization, halting, reducing, and dismantling North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, represents the technical solution, then the “E·N·D Initiative” can be seen as a broader blueprint for peace on the peninsula.

At its core, the president’s vision seeks to foster trust instead of hostility through inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation, ultimately building a lasting peace regime on the peninsula. The government stresses that the three components of “E·N·D” are not sequential steps but can and should be pursued in parallel, reinforcing one another in a virtuous cycle. Normalization includes not only relations between the two Koreas but also between North Korea and the broader international community, including the U.S.

President Lee did not present a detailed action plan for implementing “E·N·D,” likely mindful that Pyongyang is unlikely to respond positively to any proposal from the South at present. Instead, he emphasized starting points such as mutual respect between systems, renunciation of absorption-based unification, and an end to hostile acts. He suggested that restoring inter-Korean trust step by step, with patience, could ultimately lead to peace. It is in this context that the administration proposes suspension of North Korea’s nuclear and missile activities as the entry point for dialogue, rather than insisting on immediate denuclearization as the end goal.

For the initiative to succeed, international support and cooperation are indispensable, underscoring the need for careful diplomacy with surrounding powers including China. Above all, inter-Korean policy must carry the backing of the Korean people to have real momentum. While the government maintains that denuclearization of the peninsula remains the ultimate objective and that the spirit of reunification enshrined in the Constitution is unchanged, skepticism lingers in some quarters. Critics question whether the plan amounts to tolerating North Korea’s nuclear status or implicitly endorsing a “two-state” framework. The administration would do well to strengthen communication with both the public and the opposition.

The real obstacle, of course, is North Korea itself. Backed by China and Russia, Pyongyang seeks recognition as a normal state. Yet no country can achieve that status while clinging to nuclear weapons. On the same day, the G7 foreign ministers reaffirmed in a statement their commitment to “the complete denuclearization of North Korea.” This reflects the international community’s clear-eyed view. If North Korea truly wishes to join the global community, it must change course. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un must make a decisive choice. Whether with the U.S. or South Korea, we hope he steps forward to the table of dialogue, as President Lee has proposed.