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A South Korean delegation discusses the establishment of a joint liaison office with North Korean counterparts at the Kaesong Industrial Complex’s inter-Korean exchange and cooperation discussion office on June 8. (provided by the Ministry of Unification)
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South Korea to be represented by office director, secretary general and 3 department heads
South and North Korea plan to hold an opening ceremony on Sept. 14 for a joint liaison office with resident officials stationed from both sides as stated in their Apr. 27 Panmunjom Declaration, sources reported. The ceremony is to be attended by South and North Korean officials including South Korean Minister of Unification Cho Myung-gyon and Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) Chairman Ri Son-gwon. The South Korean government reportedly plans to pass an amendment of ordinance of a Ministry of Unification organization reflecting the joint office’s establishment as early as a Sept. 11 Cabinet meeting presided over by President Moon Jae-in. Multiple sources close to the joint liaison office discussions said on Sept. 10 that the two sides had reached a provisional agreement to hold the opening ceremony on Sept. 14 following previous working-level discussions in Kaesong. Cho and Ri are to attend the ceremony as senior representatives to the high-level inter-Korean talks, with both to participate in a signing event for an “agreement on the composition and operation of the Kaesong inter-Korean joint liaison office” during the ceremony. The plan devised by Seoul for South Korea’s representation at the office reportedly involved a system with an office director, secretary general, and three department heads. Vice Minister of Unification Chun Hae-sung is to serve concurrently as the South Korean side’s inaugural director. The secretary-general, who is to reside and direct day-to-day affairs at the Kaesong office in lieu of the non-full-time Chun, is to be selected from Level 1 staffers from a senior government employees’ group of the Ministry of Unification. Three departments are also to be instituted in the secretariat to respectively oversee general affairs, cooperation efforts, and negotiations, with the department heads to be selected from among Level 3 members of the senior government employees’ group, sources said. Up to 30 employees of the Ministry of Unification, Blue House, and other related offices are residing and working on the South Korean side of the joint liaison office. South and North Korea previously finished repairs on the former inter-Korean exchange and cooperation consultation office within the Kaesong Industrial Complex after a previous decision to use it to house the joint liaison office. Electricity has been provided to the building since Aug. 14 through distribution from the South Korean side. By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer, and Noh Ji-won, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
