Lee In-young "Urgent Resumption of Humanitarian Cooperation with North Korea to Restart Korean Peninsula Peace Process"

Minister of Unification Lee In-young is delivering a greeting at the 4.27 Panmunjom Declaration 3rd Anniversary Commemoration Event "Cooperation for Peace, Let's Start Again" held on the 27th in front of the DMZ gate at the northern end of the South-North Entry Office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province. 2021.4.27 Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Minister of Unification Lee In-young stated, "We will do our best to restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula," identifying the resumption of humanitarian cooperation with North Korea as the most urgent task.

On the 28th, at the Forest Vision Center, during the discussion forum titled "The Path to Prosperity on the Korean Peninsula: Promoting a South-North Life and Economic Community," co-hosted by 43 people including Assemblyman Joo Cheol-hyun of the Democratic Party of Korea, Minister Lee said, "The Ministry of Unification will do its utmost to restore inter-Korean relations and restart the peace process on the Korean Peninsula, no matter what happens."

Minister Lee emphasized, "Rather than waiting for conditions to be created, we will steadily implement what we can do immediately within the given circumstances," adding, "The starting point is to resume the most urgent area of humanitarian cooperation with North Korea."

He conveyed that due to sanctions, flood damage, and border closures caused by COVID-19, North Korea's food shortage this year is expected to exceed 1 million tons, stating, "The government has been carefully monitoring North Korea's food situation and has continuously prepared and made efforts to promptly, substantially, and swiftly promote livelihood cooperation focusing on food and fertilizer."

He continued, "To provide practical assistance to North Korean residents by substantially promoting inter-Korean livelihood cooperation, the related budget has already been reflected in this year's Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund," adding, "We have been steadily preparing to implement it immediately when necessary, considering North Korea's response, the situation at the North Korea-China border, and the consensus of our citizens."

Minister Lee said, "Inter-Korean relations may repeatedly advance and halt, but humanitarian cooperation cannot stop even for a moment," emphasizing, "Humanitarian cooperation must be steadily and continuously pursued regardless of political, military, or security situations."

He added, "Humanitarian cooperation between the South and the North is the path to jointly building a life and safety community," and stated, "The government will consistently continue humanitarian cooperation such as health and medical cooperation and livelihood cooperation, based on national consensus, including COVID-19."

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