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Press

Press Briefings

본문영역

Regular Briefing by Spokesperson Lee Sang Min

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고민석
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2019-11-18
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12841

Date: Monday, November 18, 2019
Time: 10:30-10:40 A.M.

1. Minister's Schedule

Minister Kim Yeon Chul is visiting the United States from November 17 to 23. Minister Kim will be in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles during the visit, and will deliver a keynote speech at the Korea Global Forum for Peace.

2. Vice Minister's Schedules

Vice Minister Suh Ho will attend the cabinet meeting tomorrow(11.19) at 10 A.M., followed by a policy forum between the Unification Ministry and the Korea Institute for National Unification at 11 A.M.

On Wednesday(11.20), Vice Minister Suh will deliver congratulatory remarks at an inaugural meeting of the association of national literary writers gathered in commemoration of the June 15 Joint Declaration(2000).

On Thursday(11.21), Vice Minister Suh will attend the vice-ministers’ conference at 10:30 A.M.

On Friday(11.22), Vice Minister Suh will deliver congratulatory remarks at an academic seminar on inter-Korean cooperation and peace economy at 2:30 P.M.

3. Q&A (Partial)

Q. It has been a week since the North’s Korean Central News Agency reported that the North delivered an ultimatum to the South regarding Mount Geumgang ? is there any further development regarding this that you can share?

A. There is a great gap between the positions of the two Koreas regarding issues concerning the Mt. Geumgang tourism zone. Accordingly, the ROKG is coming up with measures through close consultations with business operators. We will let you know of any additional developments in the future if there are any, and after the follow-up measures are finalized.

Q. Regarding the ultimatum, the North technically implied the possibility of removing the South’s facilities on its own discretion. What is your take on this?

A. The North has unilaterally demanded that we send the schedule and plan of the withdrawal in the form of document exchange. This contradicts with our position, which calls for face-to-face meetings between related parties. It is our interpretation that the North has hinted at the possibility of removing the South’s facilities on its own discretion.

However, the North has also noted through a Rodong Sinmun report that it will resolve this issue through consultations with the South. Therefore, we are putting emphasis on this and urging for the North to positively respond to our request to resolve the issue through dialogue.