Kim Young-ho "Abolishing the Ministry of Unification is Undesirable... Supports US-North Korea and Japan-North Korea Dialogues"

Kim Young-ho, the nominee for Minister of Unification, stated on the 19th in his written response to the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee's personnel hearing questionnaire that "it is not desirable to integrate or abolish the Ministry of Unification with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Kim Young-ho, nominee for Minister of Unification, is responding to reporters' questions on the way to work at the Inter-Korean Summit Headquarters in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the 30th to prepare for the confirmation hearing. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Kim said, "Article 4 of the Constitution specifies the establishment and promotion of a peaceful unification policy based on the free democratic basic order, and the Ministry of Unification is a ministry aimed at realizing these constitutional values, with clearly distinct purposes and roles from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs," explaining his position.

Regarding who the North Korean counterpart to the Minister of Unification is, he said, "It is difficult to presume a specific North Korean counterpart under the current circumstances."

Since 2018, in inter-Korean high-level talks, the Minister of Unification has served as the South Korean chief representative, and the chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) has led the North Korean side, but this response is interpreted in light of the disappearance of CPRK activities since 2021.

Kim also viewed it as difficult to mention inter-Korean summits given North Korea's current provocations and blocking of communication with the South. He also stated, "I support dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea, and between Japan and North Korea, as problem-solving through dialogue is desirable."

He assessed, "Regarding the U.S.'s unconditional offer for dialogue, North Korea refuses dialogue itself and focuses on advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, while it does not exclude the possibility of related contacts with Japan on issues such as abductees, so it is necessary to monitor future developments."

However, he took a cautious stance on the issue of opening North Korean broadcasts, which Minister Kwon Young-se promoted. "There are pros and cons among the public regarding the opening of North Korean broadcasts, and issues of harmonization with related laws such as the National Security Act must be carefully reviewed," he said, prioritizing gathering opinions from various sectors and forming social consensus.

Meanwhile, Kim acknowledged and expressed regret for omitting some real estate in his personnel hearing request form. In response to a request from Yoon Ho-jung, a member of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee from the Democratic Party of Korea, for details on the office lease contract in the Garden Five building in Songpa-gu, he replied, "I regret that the relevant real estate was omitted from the declaration list due to the hurried preparation of the personnel hearing request form, and I will be mindful of this going forward."

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