South Korea’s Minister of Unification Hyun In Taek reiterated today, “The reunification we are aiming at is a peaceful and gradual one. When North Korea gives up its nuclear weapons and steps forward to reform and opening, the international community will invest in and cooperate for North Korea’s economic restoration.”
He added, “After that, we will face a fundamentally different state in terms of the cost of reunification.”
Hyun was offering the opening remarks at a policy debate held by Grand National Party lawmaker Kim Choong Whan entitled, “Reunification Era on the Korean Peninsula, Debate on the Reunification Tax,” this morning.
He went on, “In the spirit of solving those problems one has created for oneself, North Korea should remove obstacles to inter-Korean relations.”
“The North should not change the surface while leaving the substance as it was,” he added. “This will be the standard by which to see whether or not North Korea can go down the road of essential change.”
He explained, specifically, “Once the Cheonan incident is solved and nuclear problems progress, we can enter a new phase of inter-Korean relations. Our efforts are at least aimed at the normalization of North-South relations and, in the bigger picture, the advancement of reunification and ways to minimize the cost of reunification.”
Regarding the unification tax, “The most important work for now is to create an agreement among the people and then establish a social consensus, rather than to confirm the way we will raise the funds.”
He emphasized, “We have the ability to accomplish the most successful reunification in the history of the world.”
In addition, with respect to the fact that the working group meeting on the issue of the separated family reunions held in Kaesong on the 24th ended with nothing, Hyun criticized the North Korean stance harshly, saying, “North Korea should not politicize the issue of separated family reunions.”
He added, “North Korea should cooperate with the South in order to reach the fundamental solution of humanitarian issues between the North and South, including the matter of holding separated family reunion events regularly.”
Regarding deadlocked inter-Korean relations, Minister Hyun also asserted, “North Korea should make an effort to return relations to normal. It must not harm inter-Korean relations anymore.”
