Date: Monday, February 7, 2022
Time: 10:30-10:37 A.M.
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.