South Korea Minister of Unification Ryu Woo Ik yesterday discussed North Korea policy with Ileanna Ros-Lehtinen, the Republican chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.
In the talks, which were held in Washington D.C., Ryu explained South Korea’s stance as “While maintaining current policy toward North Korea, we are willing to show flexibility in establishing more channels of communication through religion, cultural exchanges and humanitarian aid etc.”
He added that South Korea is committed to providing more economic resources in preparation for unification and also to further supporting the settlement of defectors in South Korea.
For her part, Chairwoman Ros-Lehtinen replied with a comment about the effect of the successful settlement of Cuban refugees such as her on people left behind in Cuba, and how this makes settlement issues in the target country so important.
She also mentioned the reinforcement of sanctions towards North Korea, Syria, and Iran.
Before the meeting, Ryu visited the Korean War Veterans Memorial Park to pay his respects, stating at the time, “The purpose of this visit is to strengthen the framework of U.S.-South Korea cooperation by explaining (our North Korea policy) directly to the legislature, State Department and experts who decide unification and North Korea policy so as to come to an understanding.”
He added, “The unification of the Korean Peninsula will be the fruit of the loss of U.S. Korean War veterans” going on, “I shall play the role of minister with hope for the speedy arrival of that day.”
“The relationship between the U.S. and South Korea is at its peak,” he concluded.
Today, the second day of his U.S. visit, Minister of Unification Ryu is scheduled to meet with specialists from the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William J. Burns, Senator Jim Webb(D) of Virginia and also Senator Joe Lieberman (I), who chairs the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
