Date: Monday, April 10, 2023
Time: 10:30-10:36 A.M.

 

1. Minister’s Schedule

On April 11, Unification Minister Kwon Youngse will attend the cabinet meeting.

On April 12, Minister Kwon will deliver a lecture at a breakfast forum hosted by the ROTC Korea, and he will also give a lecture at the National Institute for Unification Education on April 13.

 

2. Vice Minister’s Schedule

At 3 P.M. today, Vice Minister Kim Ki Woong will chair the first meeting of the 2023 Council on North Korean Human Rights, participated by high-ranking officials from relevant agencies including Ministries of Unification, Foreign Affairs, Education, Justice, National Defense, and Interior and Safety to discuss measures of raising awareness of North Korean human rights situation at home and abroad.

On April 13, Vice Minister Kim will attend the vice-minister’s conference.

 

3. Q&A

Q) Has the Government confirmed or been aware of the documents related to North Korea’s new nuclear program among the classified documents leaked from the United States?

A) The Ministry does not have information to provide related to this issue.

Q) I understand that the routine call through the South-North Liaison Office was not made today. How does the Ministry assess North Korea's intentions or background on this matter?

A) North Korea did not respond to our call through the military communications channels over the weekend. As the both channels at the South-North Joint Liaison Office and the military have not been answered until this morning, it is highly likely that the North unilaterally cut off the communication lines.

We will continue to closely monitor the situation and discuss further measures, however, it won’t take us long to make an official statement.

Q) You just mentioned that the North may have unilaterally shut down the communications channels. When was the last time the channels were restored after several cycles of termination and restoration, and is this the first time that the possibility of the North’s unilateral cut off has been raised?

A) The South-North Joint Liaison Office opened in September 2018, and the call was maintained through telecommunication lines after the South Korean staff returned to Seoul when Covid-19 started in January 2020. On June 9 of the same year, North Korea unilaterally cut off the communication lines, denouncing the act of flying leaflets. A year and two months later, on July 26, 2021, the Government announced that the inter-Korean communications channels were restored following the exchange of letters between the leaders of the two Koreas. Two months later, on August 10, 2021, the channels were halted again until October 3 due to the ROK-US military drills, and restored on October 4.

Thus, the channels have been maintained since the restoration on October 4, 2021. This is the first time that both channels of the military and the South-North Joint Liaison Office have been completely shut down for more than one day.

Q) Is this the first time that North Korea has not been responding for four days during the Yoon administration?

A) Yes.

Q) How do you perceive the reason behind the North’s refusal to respond, under the premise that the unilateral cut off is true?

A) The Ministry will not step ahead to draw the North’s intentions, but rather closely prepare for response measures, which won’t take long.

Q) There was a report that a document released by the Unification Ministry during the Moon Jae-in administration on the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, which included the content that North Korean defectors were spraying items laced with coronavirus, was directed by the Office of National Security. Could you provide any further clarification on this report?

A) In December 2020, the Ministry uploaded a document related to the amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act, on the Ministry’s website and emailed it to the Ministry's domestic and foreign policy clients, including diplomatic missions in Korea. The material originally prepared by the Ministry did not include the details on North Korean defectors, however, it was included later as a result of consultations with relevant agencies, including the Office of National Security.

However, the Yoon administration has consistently denied the possibility of Covid-19 transmission through dissemination of leaflets.

Q) Could you tell us the number of our call attempts and the North’s response on April 6, when the last call was made with the North?

A) I will have to check on that and let you know.