Date: Monday, August 29, 2022
Time: 10:30-10:39 A.M.

 

1. Ministry to hold the Korea Global Forum for Peace(KGFP2022)
From August 30 to September 1, the Unification Ministry will hold the Korea Global Forum for Peace(KGFP2022) under the theme of the “Vision for Unification of the Korean Peninsula and Inter-Korean Relations in a Transitional Era.”

The forum has served as a platform where government officials and experts on the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean relations from various countries address peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula since 2010.

About 200 speakers from 27 organizations will participate in the forum to cover diverse topics including the grand strategy and the vision for the unification of the Republic of Korea as a global pivotal state, normalization of relations between two Koreas and their co-prosperity, an outlook on changes in North Korea, and securing public consensus and policy continuity. The entire program will be streamed live on YouTube.

 

2. Ministry to hold the 2022 Youth Forum
The Unification Ministry will hold the 2022 Youth Forum at the Odusan Unification Tower at 3 P.M today with 50 young people in their 20s and 30s recruited through the Ministry website.

This event will be held in a format of social dialogue where various opinions on unification policies are shared. Vice Minister of Unification Kim Ki Woong will also attend the event to engage in with the participants.

 

3. Minister’s Schedule
From 10 A.M. today, Unification Minister Kwon Youngse is attending the inquiry session on policy of the National Assembly’s Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.

On August 30, Minister Kwon will attend the Korea Global Forum for Peace(KGFP2022) to deliver opening remarks.

On August 31, Minister Kwon will meet with Chairman Kim Ki-Mun of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and on September 2, he will meet with Elizabeth Salmon, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the DPRK.

 

4. Q&A

Q. President Kang Cheol Hwan of the North Korea Strategy Center had an interview about a meeting that Minister Kwon had with North Korean defector groups last Friday. According to Kang, when the groups asserted that North Korean human rights matters must be the priority in the Government’s North Korea policy, Minister Kwon mentioned that such matters are included in the framework of the Audacious Initiative. Do you have specific information regarding how the human rights issues will be reflected in the Initiative?

A. We are also aware of the report. Minister Kwon mentioned the Audacious Initiative as a way that denuclearization and improved inter-Korean relations would ultimately advance North Korean residents’ quality of life. The Audacious Initiative envisions improving North Korean people’s livelihood in the areas of public health, drinking water and sanitation, and forestation. When North Korea joins the Audacious Initiative and no longer concerns for the stability of its regime, the conditions of human rights in North Korea will be substantially enhanced.

 

Q. As the second half of the ROK-US joint drills begin today, could you provide any information on the North’s developments?

A. The Ministry has no information regarding North Korea’s response to the joint drills.

 

Q. There has not been any official response from the North regarding the joint drills other than the North Korean propaganda media so far. What is the Ministry’s take on this?

A. We would ask you to understand that the ROK-US joint military drills are defense exercises operated annually.

 

Q. How does the Ministry evaluate an interview that was published in the KCNA of a Russian official who mentioned that North Korea would not conduct a nuclear test at a time that South Korea and the US want?

Also, could you comment on a report that North Korea pushes for import of 200,000 baggage of rice from India, which indicates North Korea’s severe food shortage?

A. The nuclear test is considered ready to be carried out at any time depending on President Kim Jong Un’s decision. The reason that the North still has not conducted the test is presumed to be its own political considerations.

North Korea’s average food shortage is estimated at around 800,000 tons per year. This years’s food situation may have been more difficult as the North continues to close down its borders and the weather conditions were poor, however, it is necessary to continue monitoring the food situation for further details. Thus, there is no additional comment at the Ministry’s level about the report of North Korea’s import of rice from India.