Action for Korea United chair blasts unification minister’s ‘two-state framework’

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has been at the center of controversy for his policy drive promoting the so-called “peaceful two-state framework,” which claims the North and South now function as “two separate countries in reality.” Chung’s theory provoked an immediate backlash not only from academic and diplomatic circles but also within the Lee Jae Myung administration. National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac rebutted the unification minister’s claims during his September visit to Washington, D.C., saying that “the government does not support or recognize any two-state frameworks.” Action for Korea United (AKU) co-Chair Seo In-taek also expressed his concerns about the Lee administration’s internal muddle in North Korea policy, noting that any perception of Korea as two separate countries could signal the abandonment of unification aims. “It is not only nonsense but also very unconstitutional,” Seo said during an interview with The Korea Times. “North Korean leader Kim Jong-un started fundamentally reshaping the regime’s official stance by formally renounci