Lee In-young: "Regarding the North's Liaison Office Explosion, We Should Discuss 'Healing Methods' Rather Than Retaliation"

Minister of Unification Lee In-young is attending the government-wide questioning session on diplomacy, unification, and security held at the National Assembly plenary session hall on the 15th, responding to questions from lawmakers. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Minister of Unification Lee In-young responded to calls for punitive measures such as referring North Korea's demolition of the liaison office to the UN General Assembly by saying, "Creating a fundamental framework for improving inter-Korean relations and discussing ways to heal the liaison office is one of the wisdoms we can choose at this crossroads of history." He also proposed establishing a Pyongyang delegation and setting up liaison offices and trade representative offices in Kaesong, Sinuiju, Rajin, and S?nbong.

On the 15th, during a parliamentary question session, Minister Lee answered Rep. Cho Jung-hoon of the Transition Era party, stating, "Despite North Korea's rough actions such as destroying the liaison office, on the other hand, there were aspects that did not cross the deadline of the 2018 Pyongyang Declaration military agreement," emphasizing this point.

In response to Rep. Cho's question, "It is unimaginable for neighboring countries to blow up South Korea's consulates or liaison offices, but if such an event occurs, would they just issue a statement and stop?" Minister Lee said, "Other measures will be taken," and explained, "However, the relationship between South and North Korea differs from normal state-to-state diplomatic relations; it is a relationship on the path to unification, as partners of the same nation working toward unification."

When Rep. Cho pointed out that young people might not agree with this, Minister Lee said, "I do not think the younger generation completely fails to understand or empathize with the awareness of enduring and taking strategic steps to heal the tragedies caused by our nation's division and to move toward peaceful unification, as my generation does," adding, "The younger and older generations should seek ways for different values to coexist through more dialogue."

Minister Lee stated, "Unification means changing from living separately to living together," and added, "It is about expanding our lives from a small stage to a broader one, where economic, cultural, and intangible spiritual benefits can arise, and furthermore, our lives, which have been constrained by military and security situations, can advance more freely and prosperously."

Regarding Rep. Cho's question about resuming the Kaesong Industrial Complex in a manner similar to Vietnam or Cambodia, Minister Lee said, "We will also consider ways to develop mutual economic relations within the framework of international law," but added, "I hope you evaluate the agreements and accords made during the East and West Germany unification process, which did not deviate much from the universality of international law yet contributed to the German unification process."

He continued, "Please also evaluate how the 23 agreements made in cross-strait relations have functioned, allowing political and military tensions between China and Taiwan to arise at times, yet economic activities of the people have calmly developed," and said, "We can keep these issues open for discussion and gather wisdom on what is best for the development of inter-Korean relations."

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