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South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon speaks at a press conference marking his first anniversary in office at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on July 2. (Yonhap News)
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Cho Myung-gyon says President Moon will visit Pyongyang in fall
South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon said on July 2 that South and North Korea would “make preparations to enter a stage of full-scale pursuit of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula” at another inter-Korean summit this fall. In a talk with reporters at the Central Government Complex in Seoul on the eve of his first anniversary in office, Cho noted that the Panmunjeom Declaration by the South and North Korean leaders at their summit on Apr. 27 included an agreement for South Korean President Moon Jae-in to “visit Pyongyang this fall.” “More than anything, we have a comprehensive plan to focus our preparations on ushering inter-Korean relations into a stage of sustainable institutionalization,” he said. Cho went on to say that Seoul’s basic position on inter-Korean dialogue and exchange is one of “advancing inter-Korean relations to a new and historic level through swift implementation of the Panmunjeom Declaration.” At the same time, the process would be “approached in a calm and orderly fashion with the public’s support and without neglecting cooperation with the international community,” he added. A senior official with the Ministry of Unification said that Seoul supports the idea of economic cooperation being “key to the peninsula’s prosperity,” but cautioned against reading too much into Cho’s remarks about a fall summit marking the beginning of its full-scale pursuit. “We are cautious about connecting that to the question of whether the situation with North Korea sanctions will have changed enough [by fall] that we can pursue full-scale economic cooperation,” the official explained. But the official also noted the inter-Korean subcommittee talks on railways and roads that took place in succession at Panmunjeom in late June. “Once the situation with sanctions changes and we reach the stage of full-scale economic cooperation, we will make preparations to begin economic cooperation with as little of a time lag as possible,” the official said. On the question of whether North Korea would be pursuing reforms and openness under the Kim Jong-un regime, the same official said, “As we all know, North Korea has expressed some resistance to the term ‘reforms and openness.’” At the same time, the official predicted that Pyongyang would “pursue reforms and openness under North Korea’s own terminology,” adding that Kim’s position on this was “definitely stronger and firmer than in the past.” Cho Myung-gyon is currently scheduled to visit Pyongyang from July 3 to 6 as head of a visiting South Korean delegation to attend unified basketball matches. It is his first visit to North Korea in over a decade since serving a delegation member at an inter-Korean defense ministers’ meeting in Pyongyang on Nov. 27-29, 2007, while he was serving as Blue House national security secretary. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
