‘Peaceful coexistence’ mentioned 105 times, absent last year
Exchange·cooperation stressed, weight on human rights reduced
Room for criticism that the ‘two-state theory’ has been officially acknowledged

The first Unification White Paper explaining the Lee Jae Myung administration policy for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula has been published. Compared with last year white paper, inter-Korean exchange·cooperation is emphasized, while the weight on North Korean human rights is reduced. For the first time, the Ministry of Unification also explicitly states the need to shift inter-Korean relations to a relationship of ‘peaceful two states oriented toward unification’.

The Ministry of Unification issued the <2026 Unification White Paper> on the 18th. For the first time since the white paper series began, it carries a subtitle, ‘2025 Records of Peaceful Coexistence on the Korean Peninsula’. The Ministry of Unification said it reflects the intent to shift inter-Korean relations, which were in a state of complete severance when the administration was launched, to peaceful coexistence.

Compared with the <2025 Unification White Paper> published in May last year before the launch of the Lee Jae Myung administration, policies for peaceful coexistence and exchange·cooperation are emphasized. Peaceful coexistence, which was absent in last year white paper, is mentioned 105 times this year. In the structure of the white paper, this year the first chapter explains the policy for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula, and efforts to resume exchange·cooperation and inter-Korean dialogue are covered across three chapters. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration unification initiative aimed at ‘principled responses to North Korean provocations’ and a ‘Free Unification Republic of Korea’, the ‘8·15 Unification Doctrine’, has disappeared.

The Ministry of Unification specified the ‘peaceful two states’ stance, stating, “Taking into account the reality that the two Koreas exist as de facto two states, we seek to make inter-Korean relations a relationship that pursues unification while coexisting peacefully.” The government is focusing on countering North Korea hostile two-state theory by removing hostility and shifting to a peaceful relationship. Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young has said, “Rather than ‘hostile two states’, a ‘peaceful two states’ condition in which severed railways·roads are reconnected and the lights are turned back on at the Kaesong Industrial Complex benefits both sides.” Some quarters have raised the point that the government has formalized ‘two states between North and South’.

Inter-Korean exchanges totaled zero last year. For the fifth consecutive year there were no cross-border travelers; for three consecutive years there was no inter-Korean trade; and for two consecutive years there was no funding for humanitarian cooperation toward the North.

Content related to North Korean human rights has been greatly reduced. Last year it was placed as the second chapter under the title ‘North Korean Human Rights and Humanitarian Issues’, but this year it is treated as a subheading in the fourth chapter. Unlike the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, which focused on bringing North Korean human rights issues before the international community, the Lee Jae Myung administration stated, “We will pursue an inter-Korean human rights cooperation policy that maintains the principle of mutual respect and is in harmony with peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.”

The number of South Korean nationals detained in North Korea is recorded as seven, up by one from last year. This is because the government classified journalist Ham Jin-woo, a north-bound individual who went missing in 2017 while reporting in the North Korea·China border area, as detained in North Korea. Records of North Korean human rights violations confirmed through investigations of individuals who entered last year, including north-bound persons, total 217 cases.

The Unification White Paper is distributed to government agencies, civil groups, research institutes, and public libraries, and is also posted on the Ministry of Unification website. The Ministry of Unification said the decision on whether to publish this year North Korean Human Rights Report is “undecided.”