Date: Monday, March 8, 2021
Time: 10:30-10:34 A.M.
1. Minister's Schedule
Minister Lee In-young will attend the cabinet meeting tomorrow at 10 A.M.
2. Vice Minister’s Schedule
Vice Minister Suh Ho will deliver congratulatory remarks at an
annual meeting of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and
Cooperation’s board of representatives tomorrow at 2 P.M.
Board members of the Council and representatives of member
organizations will evaluate its 2020 business performance and discuss
this year’s work plan.
On March 11, Vice Minister Suh will attend the vice-minister’s
conference at 10:30 A.M.
3. Q&A
Q. Scaled back ROK-U.S. military exercises have kicked off, but I am
aware that the Unification Ministry had called for a ‘flexible’
solution to the issue. What is the Ministry’s position regarding the
joint drills.
A. South Korea and the United States will hold the 2021 command post
exercise for nine days starting today.
The Ministry has maintained its position that the ROK-U.S. joint
exercises should be approached ‘wisely’ and ‘flexibly,’ while
comprehensively considering various conditions including the
coronavirus pandemic, the Tokyo Olympics, the U.S. government’s draw
up of its Korean Peninsula policy, and the planned transfer of wartime
operational control, so that it does not cause military tension on the
Korean Peninsula.
As the drills are to be carried out in a flexible and scaled-back
manner in format and size, we will continue to make efforts to see the
exercises support the peace process on the Korean Peninsula.
We hope that North Korea, corresponding to our efforts, will show a
wise and flexible attitude toward building solid and lasting peace on
the Korean Peninsula.
