Held in Seoul ahead of Korea’s National Foundation Day, the 2026 International Forum on One Korea brought together leaders, experts, and civil society representatives to advance a comprehensive strategy for a free and unified Korea.
Discussions emphasized the need to move beyond managing division toward a long-term approach that places unification at the center of efforts to address nuclear security, human rights, and information access.
The following is an excerpt from an article by Hyojoon Jeon for UPI.
Dr. Hyun Jin Preston Moon delivers the keynote address, calling on Koreans to take ownership of the Korean Dream and prepare for a future beyond division.
Organized by the Global Peace Foundation and Action for Korea United, the forum drew about 400 participants, including 140 Korean Peninsula experts from 20 countries, organizers said.
Speakers included Global Peace Foundation Chairman Hyun Jin Preston Moon, former U.S. Under Secretary of State Robert Joseph, former North Korean diplomat and South Korean lawmaker Thae Yong-ho, retired U.S. Army Col. David Maxwell and Kenneth Bae, president of New Korea International.
The forum focused on making unification the long-term objective linking nuclear security, human rights and information access rather than continuing to manage the consequences of division.
The forum came as President Lee Jae Myung’s government has shifted toward peaceful coexistence with the North, an approach Seoul describes as relations between “two peaceful states.”
Moon argued that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s abandonment of unification created a strategic opening for South Korea. Kim declared in late 2023 and early 2024 that the two Koreas are “hostile states” and dropped unification as a national goal.
Moon interpreted Kim’s decision as an acknowledgment that North Korea could not prevail in the historical competition over which political system would ultimately unify Korea.
He argued that Korea’s division emerged from great-power politics rather than a decision by Koreans and said Koreans should lead efforts to overcome it with international support.
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