SEOUL, October 18, 2026 (DAILYNWZ) — Korea will continue efforts to reopen dialogue with North Korea and establish the basis for peaceful coexistence, Prime Minister Han Seong-sook said on Sunday, as communication between the longtime rivals remains suspended.
Seoul will work to create conditions for the resumption of talks with Pyongyang, Han said, according to Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
“Efforts will be made to open the door for dialogue between Korea and North Korea and to hold talks on peace and joint prosperity,” she said.
Han acknowledged that the division of the Korean Peninsula remains a reality, while stressing that its human cost continues to be felt by displaced residents and families separated by the border.
“Our efforts to open the road to peaceful coexistence of Korea and North Korea cannot stop,” she said.
The renewed pledge comes amid efforts by Korean President Lee Jae Myung to reverse some of the hard-line measures adopted by his predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol, and restore communication channels with the North.
Since taking office in June 2025, Lee has halted anti-North Korean loudspeaker broadcasts and banned activists from sending balloons carrying anti-Pyongyang messages into North Korean territory, among other steps intended to ease tensions and encourage contact between the two sides.
Communication channels have remained suspended since the Yoon administration, leaving Seoul and Pyongyang without a resumption of the dialogue that the current government says it wants to restore.
The two Koreas signed the Panmunjom Declaration in April 2018 at the truce village of Panmunjom, setting out commitments linked to peace and improved inter-Korean relations. The agreement marked a significant diplomatic moment, although efforts to sustain dialogue have since stalled.
The peninsula remains technically at war because the 1950-1953 Korean War ended with an armistice rather than a peace treaty. The absence of a formal peace agreement continues to shape relations between the two sides.
Han’s remarks signal that Seoul intends to keep pursuing dialogue despite the prolonged suspension of official communication. However, no new talks or timetable for their resumption were announced in the report.
