South Korea shifts focus to ‘peaceful coexistence' with North Korea instead of 'confrontation'

The South Korean government under President Lee Jae Myung has shifted its focus to "peaceful coexistence" with North Korea rather than "pressure and confrontation," a white paper released by the Unification Ministry showed Monday, local media reported.

The annual paper, striking a distinctly different tone from the previous government, reflects the push by the Lee administration which took office in June last year to repair the strained inter-Korean relationship based on building mutual trust, Yonhap News Agency reported.

The previous conservative government of President Yoon Suk Yeol sought to bring about change in North Korea through pressure and an influx of outside information.

Citing three key guiding principles, the paper said Seoul respects North Korea's system, does not pursue unification by absorption and does not engage in hostile activities.

It also cited the Lee government's decision to halt the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets to North Korea and to stop loudspeaker broadcasts along the border as steps to ease military tension and rebuild trust.

The paper also outlines plans to revive the inter-Korean military agreement signed by then-President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sept. 19, 2018 and pursue a bilateral accord to establish a systematic foundation for peaceful coexistence.

Inter-Korean relations remain virtually frozen, as there have been no personal and economic exchanges in five years between the two arch-rivals.

North Korea earlier this month revised its constitution to remove all references to unification and cut off remaining ties with South Korea.