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Unification minister offers talks with North 'whenever, wherever'

Published: 21 Jun. 2022, 18:36 Updated: 22 Jun. 2022, 14:24

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se [NEWS1]

South Korean Unification Minister Kwon Young-se said he was willing to talk to Ri Son-gwon, head of the North Korean ruling Workers’ Party’s United Front Department, “whenever, wherever.”

In his first press conference as unification minister, Kwon told local reporters that he would strive to “turn strained South-North relations to a dialogue phase.”

As head of the ministry in charge of inter-Korean ties, Kwon said he could talk to Ri in “whatever format, wherever, wherever.”

Kwon said he would like to “candidly talk about every issue” with Ri.

A former military official in the North Korean Army, Ri has played many key roles in inter-Korean events and is known to be a hardliner on diplomatic and military issues. The United Front Department, which he leads, is part of the Workers’ Party’s Central Committee that oversees inter-Korean affairs.

Kwon said Seoul would actively join worldwide efforts to provide humanitarian aid to the North as the nation continues to battle Covid-19, stressing that aid will be provided regardless of “political and military considerations.”

Kwon proposed talks to Pyongyang on its Covid-19 situation soon after the regime publicly acknowledged an outbreak last month, but received no response. North Korea is known to have taken aid only from China, its closest ally.

On reports of an imminent seventh nuclear test, Kwon said it appeared Pyongyang was “physically prepared” to carry out the test, but he wasn’t sure whether it would conduct it soon.

The North “might suddenly conduct the test or maybe wait for after next March,” said Kwon.

He said Seoul was cooperating with Washington and the international community on the North Korean nuclear issue, including considering additional sanctions.

Kwon warned that a seventh nuclear experiment could lead to progress in nuclear technology, but that in the end, it will come at the cost of an economic crisis and weakened national security.

A high-level official from the Unification Ministry who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue Tuesday urged North Korea to respond to aid offers from the South Korean and U.S. governments, saying now wasn’t the time to worry about face-saving.

On what South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol meant by his “grand scheme” for inter-Korean relations in his May 10 inauguration speech, the high-level ministry official said the administration is expected to announce details shortly.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [[email protected]]