Overview
- Chung said the South Korea–U.S. combined exercises are a means to peace and that leaving room to adjust or downsize them through consultation could help reopen negotiations with Pyongyang.
- Citing SIPRI estimates that North Korea’s warhead stockpile has grown from roughly 5–10 to 50–90 in six years, he argued that periods of heavy sanctions and isolation coincided with nuclear advances.
- His position contrasts with National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac’s view that drill adjustments are not under consideration and with recent U.S. statements emphasizing the centrality of the exercises.
- He asserted that policy for the Korean Peninsula falls within South Korea’s sovereignty and said the Unification Ministry should be the principal interlocutor in consultations with Washington on North Korea policy.
- He questioned the National Security Council’s mixed-rank structure and said he has raised concerns about it with President Lee Jae Myung.