Former presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok has suggested that the two Koreas should strive to coexist as separate countries, instead of seeking to reunify. 
 
The first chief of staff to former President Moon Jae-in, Im made the remarks Thursday in Gwangju as part of a keynote speech for an event to mark the sixth anniversary of the Pyongyang Declaration, which Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced after their talks in 2018.

Im proposed that South Korea “accept reality” and acknowledge that the two Koreas are separate nations.

He also proposed the removal or revision of Article 3 of South Korea’s Constitution, which defines the territory of the Republic of Korea as the entire Korean Peninsula and its adjacent islands.

Criticizing President Yoon Suk Yeol’s unification doctrine, which advocates peaceful unification with the North based on liberal democracy, Im called on Yoon to undertake safety measures to ensure at least minimal communication between the two Koreas.