Date: Monday, January 24, 2022
Time: 10:30-10:36 A.M.
1. Ministry to hold policy briefing for international organizations
and Ambassadors to the ROK
The Ministry of Unification will be holding a policy briefing
session for international organizations and Ambassadors to the ROK on
January 25 at 3 P.M. The policy briefing will be joined by Ambassadors
and Chargés d’affaires of 31 countries, as well as Seoul office heads
of eight international organizations including the ICRC and WFP. The
Unification Minister will evaluate recent developments on the Korean
Peninsula and explain the direction for unification and North Korea
policies in 2022.
The Government is cautiously keeping a watch on the North’s recent
series of events including its missile tests and preparing for all
possibilities, while closely cooperating with the international
community to stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula.
Similarly, the Government hopes this briefing session will serve as an
opportunity to expand consensus on the need to advance the situation
on the peninsula in the direction of peace and cooperation not tension
and conflict, and to discuss cooperation methods with the
international community.
2. Other schedules
With Lunar New Year’s Day approaching next week, the Ministry is
scheduled to visit and console separated families and North Korean
defectors that cannot spend the holidays with family.
3. Q&A
Q. It is being claimed that North Korea is still inspecting and
maintaining tunnels at the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, which it
destroyed in 2018. Can the Ministry confirm such activities, and what
is the Ministry’s position regarding such a claim?
A. The Government is closely monitoring the North’s nuclear and
missile activities in close cooperation with the U.S. However, we
cannot confirm specific information regarding developments at the
North’s nuclear facilities.
The South and the North have on a number of occasions agreed to
advance the common goal of improving inter-Korean relations, achieving
complete denuclearization and establishing peace on the Korean
Peninsula. It is the Unification Ministry’s position that such
agreements must be respected and implemented, and that all related
parties including the North should cooperate in this direction. The
Ministry will continue efforts to achieve complete denuclearization on
the peninsula by cooperating with the North and the international community.
Q. North Korea is placing great emphasis on the fact that this year
marks several key anniversaries. Which events is the Ministry paying
particular attention to, and what is the possibility of military
action in relation to such events?
A. North Korea is expected to mark the 80th anniversary of the birth
of Chairman Kim Jong Il in February, the 110th anniversary of the
birth of late President Kim Il Sung in April, and the 10th anniversary
since President Kim Jong Un was named first secretary of the party and
first chairman of the national defense commission. North Korea
celebrates major political events in larger scales every 5 or 10
years, and it recently decided on matters in celebrating the birth
anniversary of President Kim Il Sung and Chairman Kim Jong Il at a
meeting of the political bureau and is calling for preparations in all
sectors through Rodong Sinmun reports.
The Government, while closely monitoring North Korea’s activities
concerning its major anniversaries, is working with related agencies
and countries in preparation for all possibilities. Meanwhile, rather
than making predictions on the North’s possible military activities,
the Ministry will cautiously look into developments in the North and
pursue comprehensive judgements.
Q. At this point, what can the Unification Ministry do to manage the
situation on the Korean Peninsula? Specifically how is the Ministry
carrying out such efforts?
A. It is the Unification Ministry’s duty to create conditions for a
future of peace – returning to the past when tensions escalated on the
peninsula and inter-Korean relations deteriorated is not desirable. To
this end, the Ministry while preparing for all possible difficulties,
is cooperating with related agencies and countries to peacefully and
stably manage the situation on the Korean Peninsula. We will continue
to make efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and advance the
settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula.