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| Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon speaks during a press conference at the Seoul Government Complex, Monday, marking his first year in office. / Yonhap |
By Kim Bo-eun
Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon said Monday the two Koreas will seek to take concrete steps for peace and co-prosperity by the time they hold a summit between their two leaders in the fall.
"At the fall summit, we are aiming to enter a stage where we can push for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," Cho said during a press briefing marking his first year in office
Because the term "prosperity" implies economic cooperation, questions were raised about whether his remarks implied South Korea will seek to enable economic cooperation with the North by that time.
A high level ministry official conceded "the essence of prosperity on the Korean Peninsula would be inter-Korean economic cooperation," but added "carrying out this needs to be done while keeping sanctions on North Korea. The international community's stance is that sanctions can only be lifted after denuclearization takes place."
"The plan is to swiftly make preparations so that when the circumstances surrounding the sanctions change and the time is ripe for economic cooperation, it can begin right away," he said.
The agreements reached on peace and prosperity at the summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on April 27 were mostly broad, as it was their first meeting and North Korea's nuclear program remained to be addressed.
The Koreas held talks on modernizing and connecting railways and roads last week. Due to the sanctions imposed on Pyongyang, they only agreed to initiate studies on the conditions of railways and roads in the North, and how they could be connected to those in the South. These were the first talks to address prospects of inter-Korean economic cooperation.
"We could sense that the North is very eager for cooperation on railways and roads from the talks held last week," the official said. "Based on its media reports since April, we can tell that North Korea is focusing on building its economy."
Meanwhile, inter-Korean exchanges in various sectors are taking place.
Cho will head a delegation which will visit the North for an inter-Korean basketball competition to be held on Wednesday and Thursday. He said he expects to be able to meet and speak with officials there on various occasions and discuss pending issues.
The Koreas are restoring military communication lines, will field a joint team for the Asian Games in August, and hold a week-long reunion for separated family members the same month.
The Panmunjeom Declaration reached at the inter-Korean summit states that the leaders will have another meeting in the fall. Cho said no discussions on specific dates have taken place yet.
"Besides the leaders holding summits in Seoul and Pyongyang, if North Korea takes part in international events, the leaders could meet at such occasions as well," the official said.
Cho said "Above all, my thoughts are that we should make preparations to focus on enabling sustainable inter-Korean relations through legislation."
This reflects the fact that the leaders of the North and South reached agreements in the first two inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007, but many fell through after the following administrations did not carry them out.
Regarding the North Korea-U.S. summit held in Singapore last month, Cho said "The countries have made preparations and are entering the stage of follow-up talks. We will make efforts so that inter-Korean relations and relations between North Korea and the U.S. become a virtuous cycle."
Working-level talks took place at the truce village of Panmunjeom, Sunday, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is expected to visit North Korea this week for a high-level follow-up meeting.
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