Lee In-young: "Kim Yo-jong's Request for US DVD Leaves Room for North Korea-US Dialogue"

Minister of Unification Nominee Confirmation Hearing
"Possibility of Resuming North Korea-US Talks Before Presidential Election"
"Improvement and Development of Inter-Korean Relations Separate from North Korean Nuclear Issue"

Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, attended the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. After taking the oath as a witness, he submitted a declaration to Chairman Song Young-gil and then turned away. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Lee In-young, the nominee for Minister of Unification, commented on Kim Yo-jong, the First Deputy Director of the North Korean Workers' Party, expressing her desire to possess a DVD of the United States Independence Day event, saying, "It leaves room for North Korea-U.S. dialogue while simultaneously implying that she herself is the channel for North Korea-U.S. talks."

At the confirmation hearing held by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that morning, Lee said, "There is a possibility that North Korea-U.S. dialogue could resume before the U.S. presidential election." He added, "It is necessary to consider how the U.S. will withdraw its hostile policy toward North Korea and how much North Korea's calculations on the nuclear issue align with those of the U.S.," and said, "There could be room for dialogue to resume." However, he also expressed a cautious stance, stating, "There is a high possibility that the deadlock will continue until the U.S. presidential election and that it will likely persist for a considerable period after the election."

Regarding inter-Korean relations, Lee emphasized that the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and the development of inter-Korean relations should not be linked but that inter-Korean relations should be improved and developed independently. He stressed creativity and imagination while advocating for the expansion of inter-Korean cooperation on humanitarian issues.

In his opening remarks that day, Lee said, "Even if North Korea-U.S. relations falter, inter-Korean relations must continue steadily with their own goals." He added, "With the momentum of inter-Korean relations, North Korea-U.S. relations can also progress, and a virtuous cycle can be practically realized," and expressed hope that "North Korea will move away from the attitude of freezing inter-Korean relations just because North Korea-U.S. talks are not happening."

Lee pointed out, "We should pay attention to the experience of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, which persuaded the international community and drew North Korea's cooperation by advancing inter-Korean relations and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue in parallel rather than linking them," emphasizing that "the starting point for parallel progress is the restoration of inter-Korean relations."

He said, "We need to approach this with creativity and imagination," and added, "I will take the lead in making bold changes to turn the 'North Korea-U.S. time' into 'inter-Korean time'."

Lee stressed the need to firmly establish principles and institutionalize them for the continuous development of inter-Korean relations, emphasizing the promotion of exchange and cooperation in the humanitarian field. He said, "Above all, humanitarian issues such as 'food, illness, and seeing loved ones before death' must be separated from political issues and never be suspended under any circumstances." He added, "Along with this, the scope of inter-Korean cooperation should be expanded to jointly respond to diseases, disasters, calamities, and climate change that do not recognize borders."

Meanwhile, on the 10th, Kim Yo-jong issued a statement expressing her position on the third North Korea-U.S. summit and unexpectedly said, "Finally, I would like to share my impressions of the U.S. Independence Day event I saw on TV a few days ago," adding, "If possible, I have received permission from the Chairman Comrade to personally obtain a DVD recording of the Independence Day event in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.