Lee In-young: "We Must Achieve Advanced Inter-Korean Agreement and Attend Beijing Olympics... Efforts to Hold High-Level Talks"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, stated that South and North Korea should achieve advanced agreements and go together to the Beijing Olympics, and he pledged to work towards holding a high-level inter-Korean meeting within this year.

On the 3rd (local time), while visiting Germany to commemorate the 31st anniversary of the reunification of East and West Germany, Minister Lee said in an interview with the media in Berlin, "Wouldn't it be better for South and North Korea to reach agreements for progress in dialogue and cooperation, and happily join hands to go to the Beijing Olympics?" He added, "First of all, restoring the communication hotline is important."

South and North Korea restored the communication hotline on July 27, but North Korea unilaterally cut off communication again on August 10, citing the joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises as a problem. However, expectations for restoration have risen since September 29, when Chairman Kim Jong-un expressed his intention at the Supreme People's Assembly to restore the severed inter-Korean communication hotline from early October.

Minister Lee expressed hope, saying, "Once the hotline is restored, we can create a system for video calls and proceed with the postponed talks to implement agreements at the high-level and various sectoral levels."

He also responded that the time to resume inter-Korean dialogue around the Beijing Winter Olympics is imminent. Minister Lee said, "Rather than just greeting each other at someone else's event, wouldn't it be better for us to reach agreements for progress in dialogue and cooperation, happily join hands, and go to the Beijing Olympics?" He added, "I believe the time for such choices and decisions is near for us."

Regarding the promotion of a high-level meeting within this year, he replied that he would strive to make the meeting happen. He said, "If necessary, we can propose it anytime and create a process for meeting each other. However, I think it is too early to immediately resume or propose high-level talks. We believe it is important to proceed calmly and steadily rather than rushing, and we will prepare accordingly."

He emphasized, "There are still some obstacles to reopening the door to cooperation, but we must be able to overcome them quickly, and in the process, we must seek patience and wisdom together for dialogue and cooperation."

Meanwhile, Minister Lee was invited by the Presidents of the German Federal Council and Bundestag to attend the 31st anniversary ceremony of German reunification held in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, on the same day.

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