Kwon Young-se "If North Korea stops military provocations and decides on denuclearization, we will fully support"

National Assembly Foreign Affairs Committee Next Year's Budget Explanation
"North Korea's Provocation a Serious Violation of UN Security Council Resolution"

Minister of Unification Kwon Young-se [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] Unification Minister Kwon Young-se emphasized, "North Korea must immediately stop military provocations that escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsula and clearly respond promptly to dialogue and the 'Bold Initiative' aimed at resolving humanitarian issues."

Minister Kwon stated this on the morning of the 31st during the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee plenary session while reporting on next year's budget plan, saying, "If North Korea makes a decision on denuclearization and comes to the dialogue table, we will provide full political and economic support through the Bold Initiative."

Along with this, Minister Kwon pointed out the recent consecutive provocations by North Korea as "a serious violation of the UN Security Council resolutions and a direct breach of the Panmunjom Joint Declaration and the Pyongyang Joint Declaration agreed upon by South and North Korea."

The Bold Initiative refers to the current government's policy toward North Korea, which means the phased and simultaneous implementation of North Korea's denuclearization measures and economic, political, and military actions. President Yoon Suk-yeol first mentioned this initiative in his inaugural speech and later announced plans to promote three major sectors?infrastructure, livelihood, and economy?in his Liberation Day address.

However, North Korea has consistently expressed rejection by criticizing such policies through its external propaganda media. The government publicly requested talks for COVID-19 quarantine cooperation and family reunions around Chuseok, but North Korea has remained silent.

Minister Kwon explained, "(The government) continues to maintain the position of strongly responding to North Korea's provocations while pursuing humanitarian cooperation unconditionally," adding, "As the North Korean nuclear issue makes practical progress, we will be able to expand the scope of cooperation to more diverse fields, including political and economic cooperation."

He also said, "The policy toward North Korea is both a relay race and a three-legged race," emphasizing once again, "Bipartisan cooperation and public consensus are the greatest driving forces behind unification and North Korea policies."

The Ministry of Unification's budget for next year is composed of 218.7 billion KRW from the general account and 1.2334 trillion KRW from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund. According to the Ministry, the budget is organized to support the Bold Initiative while focusing on creating a unification foundation domestically and internationally and addressing humanitarian issues such as North Korean human rights and North Korean defectors.

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