Unification ministry seeks sanctions relief; Foreign Ministry cautious

South Korea’s Unification Ministry on Friday put sanctions relief for inter-Korean and multilateral cooperation projects on its agenda for 2026, drawing a reserved response from the Foreign Ministry. In its 2026 annual policy plan, the Unification Ministry said it would seek to "pierce a needle hole through the wall of severed inter-Korean ties" and "boldly push preemptive and practical steps" to make 2026 "the first year of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula." As part of that push, th