At a publicized joint policy briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification at the Seoul Government Complex on December 19, President Lee Jae-myung stated, “South Korea must act with patience and do its utmost to reduce hostility between the two Koreas and allow even a small seed of trust to sprout.” 

Regarding which agency should take the reins in his administration’s North Korea policy, Lee added, “That role, I believe, is one the Ministry of Unification must play.” 

Given the recent resurgence of interministerial discord between the so-called “self-reliance faction” (Ja-Ju-Pa) and the “pro-alliance faction” (Dong-Maeng-Pa) within the Cabinet, Lee’s remarks have been widely interpreted as endorsing the former. 

In response, the Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young said, “We will strengthen our leading role as a direct party to the Korean Peninsula issue.” 

Lee’s statements come amid rifts between the self-reliance faction, led by the Unification Ministry, and the alliance camp centered around the Foreign Ministry. 

Interministerial tensions surfaced earlier this month over the “ROK-US Consultations on Joint Fact Sheet Implementation” meeting between Seoul and Washington, which sought to bolster bilateral policy coordination on Pyongyang’s nuclear issue. 

On December 16, Vice Minister for Diplomatic Strategy and Intelligence Jeong Yeon-doo met with acting U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Kevin Kim in Seoul to discuss their North Korea policy. The Unification Ministry sidelined the Foreign Ministry by

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