Regular Briefing by Spokesperson Cho Joonghoon
Date: Monday,
December 26, 2022
Time: 10:30-10:38 A.M.
1. Ministry to recruit pioneer universities participating in
unification education
The Unification Ministry has designated nine pioneer universities as
a way of stimulating unification education and raising students’
awareness on unification.
As the term of the three universities that were designated in 2019
comes to an end this year, the Unification Ministry will select three
new pioneer universities.
Those that were designated as pioneer universities will be supported
by the Unification Ministry with 180 million won yearly for the next
four years at the most for operating unification education programs.
2. Minister’s Schedule
At 10 A.M. today, Unification Minister Kwon Youngse newly appointed
two directors and an auditor of the Foundation of Support for North
Korean Defectors and highlighted their role in the settlement of North
Korean defectors.
The three appointees will serve as non-executive directors and
auditor of the Foundation of Support for North Korean Defectors for
the next three years.
On December 29, Minister Kwon will attend and deliver
congratulatory remarks at an event hosted by the North Korean Human
Rights Association.
The North Korean Human Rights Association was organized in August
this year by personnels from civil societies in an effort to establish
the North Korean Human Rights Foundation and address North Korean
human rights.
3. Vice Minister’s Schedule
On December 27, Vice Minister Kim Ki Woong will attend a product
display exhibition for the Gaeseong Industrial Complex tenant
companies and deliver congratulatory remarks on behalf of Minister Kwon.
The annual exhibit, dating back to 2006, is held as part of efforts
to support tenant companies in the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
4. Q&A
Q. A North Korean media outlet reported that the delegates of the
Korean Children’s Union (KCU) were presented certificates of
representation. It has been a while since the participants has arrived
in Pyongyang. When do you think the congress of the KCU will be held?
A. The 7th Congress in 2013 was held on June 6, two days after the
members of the KCU arrived in Pyongyang on June 4. In 2017, the 8th
Congress was held on June 6, four days after they arrived in Pyongyang
on June 2.
For this year’s event, the participants in the congress arrived in
Pyongyang on December 20, however, there has not been any reports
related to the congress for six days. We could say this seems a bit
delayed compared to the past.
Since there was a report today
that the delegates received certificates for the 9th congress, the
Ministry expects the event to be held soon.
Q. Regarding next year’s budget, the Ministry allocated 2
billion won to support the activities of North Korean human rights
organizations at home and abroad. Could you elaborate on the
background of this budget plan, and is this the first time that the
Ministry decided to support private organizations?
A. The Unification Ministry has continued to support private
organizations, therefore, it is not the first time.
The budget for promoting North Korean human rights doubled from 1.9
billion won this year to 4.08 billion won next year. As the
establishment of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation has been
delayed, a budget of 2 billion won was newly allocated to help
organizations carry out diverse activities on North Korean human rights.
Of the 667 related groups of the Unification Ministry and NGOs at
home and abroad, the Ministry will select and support organizations
for various projects including monitoring North Korean human rights
status, raising awareness, and specializing in research.
Q. A number of experts view that a party plenary meeting may be
held this week. What is the Ministry’s take on this?
A. On November 30, North Korea announced at the 11th Political
Bureau meeting that the 6th plenary meeting of the party’s 8th central
committee would be held in late December. As we are reaching towards
the end of December, the Ministry expects a plenary meeting to be held
this week.
Although North Korea has not yet specifically disclosed the agenda
for the meeting, the Government anticipates that North Korea will
review this year’s sectoral projects and present policy directions and
plans for next year. We will continue monitoring related developments.