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Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok explains the preparation process for the upcoming inter-Korean summit at the Blue House press center. (Blue House photo pool)
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Delegation likely to include reporters and leaders from various fields
South and North Korea have agreed that the South Korean delegation that will be visiting Pyongyang, North Korea, for the third inter-Korean summit, which will begin on Sept. 18 and last for three days, will consist of 200 people, sparking interest in who will be on the delegation. “During the special delegation’s trip to North Korea, we agreed that the South Korean delegation to the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang will include 200 people. If the delegation were too large, it would present a technical burden for North Korea, and 200 was the appropriate size reached in the discussion,” a senior official at the Blue House told reporters on Sept. 10. The size of this delegation to North Korea is similar to the one that accompanied former president Kim Dae-jung in 2000 but is 100 fewer than during former president Roh Moo-hyun’s visit in 2007. Considering that the technical staff for the summit – including security guards and protocol officers – will number around 100, it would appear that the rest of the delegation will be split between a pool of reporters and figures from various fields, with about 50 people in each group. Since this delegation will be smaller than the one in 2007, the Blue House is carefully considering who will be on the delegation. “They’ll have to be thinking about including not only figures from the business world but also advisors, elders of society and religious representatives. Because the size of the delegation is limited, they’re really wrestling with the idea of whom to bring along,” a senior official at the Blue House said on Monday. Given the precedent of the delegation that visited North Korea for the inter-Korean summit in 2007, around 50 people are once again likely to be selected from the seven areas of politics and business; various industries; religious organizations; culture, arts and academia; NGOs and the press; and women’s groups, in addition to Moon’s official entourage. The 46-member “inter-Korean summit elders and experts advisory group,” which was set up by a preparatory committee for the inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom on Apr. 27, is another likely source of delegation members, and particularly those who have been to Pyongyang before. Some figures who are being mentioned as possible members of the delegation to North Korea include Lim Dong-won, honorary chair of the Korea Peace Forum; Moon Chung-in, special presidential advisor for unification, foreign affairs and national security; Lee Jong-seok, senior research fellow for the Sejong Institute; and Kim Yeon-cheol, director of the Institute of National Unification. Another contender is Han Wan-sang, former Deputy Prime Minister of Unification, who is the civilian chair of the Commemorative Project Promotional Committee for the 100th Anniversary of the March 1st Movement and the Establishment of the Korean Provisional Government, a body reporting directly to the president that Moon established with a view toward joint inter-Korean events next year. The field of religion is likely to be represented by the heads of major organizations, while from big business, Park Yong-man, chair of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Hyun Jeong-eun, chair of the Hyundai Group; and the head of the tenant companies at the Kaesong Industrial Complex are likely to be seriously considered. Hyun Jeong-eun in particular is closely linked with projects in North Korea. Other names expected to be on the list of options are figures from the Korean Red Cross (President Park Kyung-seo), the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (President Kim Hong-gul) and the National Unification Advisory Council (Executive Vice-Chair Kim Deog-ryong), which reports directly to the president. By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
