Lee In-young: "North and South Korea Must Cooperate and Unite on Quarantine... Let's Resume Infectious Disease Information Exchange"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, urged the resumption of infectious disease information exchange and the establishment of response systems, emphasizing that South and North Korea must cooperate and unite in COVID-19 prevention efforts.

At the seminar on "Building a Life and Safety Community of Coexistence and Peace on the Korean Peninsula" held on the 23rd, Minister Lee stated in his congratulatory remarks, "The South and North, connected by sky, land, and sea, are a community of shared destiny in disease prevention."

Minister Lee said, "The South and North must now put their heads together for the life and safety of 80 million compatriots," adding, "South and North should resume the exchange of infectious disease information and the establishment of response systems agreed upon during the 2018 inter-Korean summits and subsequent meetings."

He also expressed that the government will lay the foundation for a life and safety community on the Korean Peninsula through a comprehensive humanitarian cooperation plan starting with COVID-19 cooperation, stating, "In this process, I hope that the space for inter-Korean cooperation can gradually expand as 'humanitarian cooperation + α' in line with progress in inter-Korean and North Korea-US dialogues."

Addressing the lawmakers present, he said, "I expect the National Assembly, the hall of public opinion, to establish a foundation for inter-Korean cooperation firmly rooted in national consensus," and expressed hope that "a warm spring of peace that can melt the once-frozen hearts of the South and North will come."

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