A forum hosted by a South Korean parliamentary research group, which coincided with Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Pyongyang on Monday, called for Seoul to pursue a strategy of "peaceful coexistence" with North Korea amid the shifting dynamics of U.S.-China relations and growing uncertainty surrounding the Korean Peninsula.
The forum was held at the National Assembly in Seoul and organized by the Northeast Asia Peaceful Coexistence Forum, a parliamentary study group led by Unification Minister Chung Dong-young.
He described the event as a gathering where some of South Korea's leading experts would discuss what kind of peaceful coexistence strategy Seoul should pursue toward North Korea amid the changing international situation.
Chung added that he viewed the discussion as a "very solemn opportunity to hold an important debate at an important moment."
Former Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said the forum was "timely."
"Only by comprehensively evaluating the U.S.-China summit can we discuss the significance of Xi's visit to North Korea today within the broader context of the U.S.-China summit," Kim added.
According to Choi, the summit followed earlier face-to-face meetings between Trump and Xi in Busan in October 2025 and in Beijing in May 2026, reflecting a mutual recognition that neither side could overwhelm the other and that direct confrontation would impose heavy costs on both countries.
"The core phrase of the summit was a 'constructive U.S.-China relationship of strategic stability,'" Choi said.
He said Washington emphasized transactions and trade outcomes, while Beijing focused on order and red lines, particularly on Taiwan.
Choi said the summit did not restore free trade or produce a "big deal," but instead marked the emergence of “managed trade” involving selective easing and continued tariff pressure.
He also argued that the Korean Peninsula had become a secondary issue in U.S.-China relations. "The Korean Peninsula agenda has been structurally pushed down the priority list," Choi said. "This is the most uncomfortable but most important reality for South Korea."
Choi said the absence of a new North Korea-U.S. summit was not accidental but reflected structural conditions, including the unresolved clash between denuclearization and regime survival, North Korea's changed negotiating calculus after the collapse of the 2019 Hanoi summit, deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow, and Washington's broader strategic distractions.
He warned that Taiwan-related tensions could directly affect security conditions on the Korean Peninsula, saying a crisis in the Taiwan Strait could simultaneously involve U.S. forces in South Korea and Japan, Japan's security role and North Korean military opportunism.
Choi argued that a strategy of peaceful coexistence with North Korea did not amount to abandoning unification but rather establishing the minimum conditions necessary to make future unification possible.
He called for restoring mechanisms to reduce military risks, including communication channels and measures to prevent accidental clashes, and urged broader non-state engagement with North Korea through local governments, civil society, culture and sports exchanges.
Min said the Trump administration's China policy in its second term was expected to pursue "competitive coexistence," maintaining pressure on Beijing while managing economic and trade relations to maximize U.S. interests.
He said the goal of strategic competition was not to defeat China outright but to preserve U.S. superiority by constraining China's rise.
Min described the recent U.S.-China summit as focused primarily on managing bilateral ties and reducing friction in trade and economic areas.
He noted that both countries agreed to pursue a "constructive relationship of strategic stability" based on fairness and reciprocity and said planned future meetings between Trump and Xi could help stabilize relations through what he described as "shuttle diplomacy."
Min said China's reaffirmation of its hard-line stance on Taiwan was one of Beijing's key achievements at the summit, while Trump maintained strategic ambiguity by avoiding direct public confrontation over the issue.
He said the summit underscored the need for South Korea to recalibrate its strategic position between Washington and Beijing based on a "pragmatic diplomacy centered on national interests."
Min also called for South Korea to strengthen cooperation with the United States and other advanced economies in strategic industries and technology while simultaneously expanding practical cooperation with China in economic and cultural areas.
He said Seoul should continue communication with Beijing on North Korea-related issues and work toward a more reciprocal and future-oriented alliance with the United States.
Min added that South Korea should play an active "pace maker" role in helping restart dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang and in facilitating meaningful progress in future negotiations.
Asked by AJP about the outcomes of Xi's visit to North Korea, Chung replied, "Let's wait and see."
Meanwhile, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made a rare public appearance at an airport to welcome Xi, who arrived in Pyongyang on early Monday afternoon for a two-day visit, the first in nearly seven years.
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