Lee In-young: "North Korea, Come to the Dialogue Table with a Flexible Position"

Lee In-young, Minister of Unification, is attending the full meeting of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee held at the National Assembly on the 28th, providing a briefing on current issues. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Minister of Unification Lee In-young has requested North Korea to "take a flexible stance and come to the dialogue table."

At the opening ceremony of the 'Social Dialogue for the Adoption of the National Unification Agreement' held on the 5th at the Seoul Inter-Korean Integrated Culture Center, Minister Lee said, "The US-ROK summit has created sufficient conditions for the resumption of inter-Korean and North Korea-US talks and an important turning point for restarting the peace process on the Korean Peninsula."

Minister Lee stated, "The government will make more proactive efforts to restart the 'time of inter-Korean relations' that had been stalled and to promote a virtuous cycle between inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations," adding, "We hope that North Korea will also take a more flexible stance, come to the dialogue table, and work with us to rebuild peace, prosperity, and unification on the Korean Peninsula."

Regarding the National Unification Agreement, Minister Lee emphasized public consensus, saying, "The issue of unification has been excessively politicized in our society," and "Our people are wise enough to contemplate and decide the future of the Korean Peninsula, and the differences in public opinion on unification are not as large as we had thought."