1. North Korean Refugees Safety Support Team begins operations

 

The ROK Government has worked to improve the settlement support system for North Korean defectors by placing emphasis on providing daily-life oriented support programs to strengthen defectors’ ability to self-support, while also making efforts to discover vulnerable defector households at early stages to provide necessary support.

 

Close cooperation among related agencies is crucial as crisis situations experienced by North Korean defectors in the settlement process often involve intertwined economic, social, and psychological factors. Accordingly, the Government has set up a team to promote safety support for North Korean defectors, comprised of nine members from the Unification Ministry and related agencies.

 

Through the operation of the North Korean Refugees Safety Support Team, the Government will work toward providing comprehensive support for defectors including those concerning livelihood, education, employment and psychological support. It will also strengthen support measures to allow for a more comfortable and stable support process.

 

2. Other schedules

 

A policy debate for the enactment of the Korean Peninsula Peace and Cooperation Foundation Act will be held this afternoon at the National Assembly. The Act, proposed by lawmaker Kim Young-ho in January, calls for the establishment of a foundation to pursue various international exchange projects with the purpose of creating an international environment favorable to inter-Korean relations as well as peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula. Minister Lee In-young will deliver congratulatory remarks, and experts will discuss ways to strengthen infrastructure to create an international foundation for unification.

 

On February 9, the Ministry will hold a forum on finding a platform for new economic development and cooperation with the North. The North Korea economic research platform will be a communication and cooperation system between the public and private, in which the government and academia periodically share the results of economic research on North Korea and form a general opinion. The forum will see the Ministry and North Korea economic researchers discuss the necessity and direction of a common platform, and Minister Lee In-young will deliver opening remarks. The Unification Ministry hopes this forum serve as an opportunity to develop the North Korea economic platform into a sustainable research cooperation system that creates synergy between the public, private, and academic sectors.

 

3. Q&A

 

Q. A session of the North’s Supreme People’s Assembly was scheduled for yesterday, but there have been no reports on this. How does the Ministry evaluate the situation? Could the meeting have been postponed?

 

A. The 6th session of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) was to be held on February 6 as decided by the SPA’s standing committee. However, the North is yet to report on the meeting. Similarly in April 2020, the North announced that it would hold the 3rd session of the 14th SPA on April 10, but held it two days later on the 12th without prior notice. As the North has a record of postponing its SPA meeting and at times reports on such political events after it wraps up when held for multiple days, we will continue monitoring related developments while considering various possibilities.

 

Q. A North Korean radio broadcast today highlighted a satellite launch that took place six years ago. Does the North annually celebrate the launch of its Kwangmyongsong (KMS) 4 satellite?

 

A. Though the North has not designated the 2016 KMS-4 satellite launch as an anniversary, it has published commemorative reports through state media on this date. Today’s radio broadcast would be in line with such past reports.

 

Q. There have been reports that the ROK-US joint military drills have been postponed to April. What effect will this have on inter-Korean relations?

 

A. The timing, scale, and details of the ROK-US joint exercises are yet to be confirmed, and I understand that the military authorities of the two countries are discussing related matters while considering various factors including the Covid-19 situation. The Unification Ministry, adhering to its position that it is important to maintain a peaceful and stable situation on the Korean Peninsula, is cooperating with related agencies including the ROK military.