South Korea supports US President Donald Trump’s efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea but wants assurances its security posture will not weaken and that Seoul will not be excluded from any process, national security adviser Wi Sung-lac told reporters on Friday.
Wi said any renewed talks between Washington and Pyongyang should center on progress over North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. He added that negotiations must not undermine the South’s defensive readiness.
Seoul’s position reflects a long-standing concern that direct US–North Korea contact could reduce its own role in decisions affecting the peninsula. South Korean officials have consistently pushed to remain a party to any diplomatic track involving the North.
Trump has signalled interest in reviving engagement with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, echoing the summit diplomacy of his first term. Those earlier meetings, held in Singapore in 2018 and Hanoi in 2019, produced no lasting agreement on denuclearisation.
The comments come as Seoul recalibrates its defence planning. The Trump administration has moved to scale back joint military exercises with South Korea, prompting the government to accelerate independent capabilities.
South Korea has separately pressed ahead with a push to develop nuclear-powered submarines, framing the effort as part of broader security preparations on the peninsula.
Wi stressed that the alliance framework with Washington should stay intact even as diplomatic outreach proceeds. He said Seoul had communicated its priorities directly to the US side.
North Korea has not publicly responded to the latest overtures. Pyongyang has ruled out negotiations premised on abandoning its nuclear arsenal, which it describes as a permanent deterrent.
Seoul’s message balances endorsement of dialogue with a demand that its interests not be traded away. Wi indicated the government would monitor how any US–North Korea contacts develop.