Overview

• At a Seoul press briefing, Chung Dong-young said the Koreas function as two states in practice as a temporary step on the path to unification, citing surveys that show a majority of South Koreans view the North as a state.
• Chung said Ukraine is reluctant to transfer two captured North Korean soldiers to South Korea, even as Seoul maintains it will accept any North Korean POWs who refuse repatriation under its constitutional stance on citizenship.
• Warning on nuclear risks, Chung said centrifuges are spinning at four North Korean sites and cited expert estimates, including from the Federation of American Scientists, that the North’s weapons-grade uranium stockpile could reach up to 2,000 kilograms.
• The Unification Ministry is reviewing North Korea human-rights programming, including the name, functions and role of the planned National Center for North Korean Human Rights, to align with its coexistence-focused policy.
• Chung urged a halt to live-fire drills near the border to restore the 2018–2023 de-escalation environment and said a U.S.–North Korea summit would be the likeliest route to break the diplomatic stalemate.