By Yi Whan-woo
Chung Jong-wook, a vice chairman of the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation, has come under criticism for hinting on Tuesday that South Korea is taking unilateral absorption of North Korean into consideration.
Chung denied the remarks Thursday, saying that peaceful unification is the only means to bring together the divided Korean Peninsula.
"There is no team under the committee that is preparing for unification by absorption or studying similar methods," he said in keynote speech at a forum in Seoul.
Chung also told reporters that he had used an inappropriate choice of words in his previous remarks.
"The committee revised multiple roadmaps for unification, and peaceful unification is the only choice to bring the two Koreas together," he said.
The controversy took place amid dormant inter-Korean dialogue between President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who both offered in January to hold an inter-Korean summit this year.
Chung and outgoing Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae are two vice chairmen of a unification committee spearheaded by the President.
Paik Hak-soon, the director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said it is believable that the government is open to a forceful assimilation of the reclusive state.
Paik speculated that Chung's remarks could risk efforts to thaw Seoul's frayed ties with Pyongyang
"I would not say Chung made a slip of the tongue because he gave a detailed description of the committee's role on possible unilateral absorption of North Korea," Paik said.
"I'd say the government has been focusing on methods for inter-Korean unification over the inter-Korean trust-building process, which is a prerequisite to end the divided Korean Peninsula.
"Pyongyang has considered Seoul's unification policies as a move to tear down and assimilate its regime. And I think Chung's remark could provoke North Korea further."
In a lecture organized by Korea Reserve Officers' Training Corps in Seoul Tuesday, Chung said unification based on consensus between the Koreas as well as a non-peace accord are other ways to achieve inter-Korean unification.
He also said, "There's a team under the committee's wing that exclusively studies unification based on a non-peace accord."
Chung denied his remarks amid claims that the Park government may be preparing for the unilateral absorption of the North.
Launched in July 2014, the committee is aimed at implementing the President's signature unification policies, namely the Dresden initiatives.
The initiatives seek to bolster cross-border exchanges as a first step toward building trust between the two Koreas to lay the groundwork for their unification.
The goals include South Korea investing in infrastructure, along with the construction of multi-farming complexes in North Korea, collaborative projects with China and Russia, and joint natural resource development projects.
The initiatives, however, have provoked Pyongyang, which claims they are intended to tear down and assimilate its regime.
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| Chung Jong-wook |
Chung denied the remarks Thursday, saying that peaceful unification is the only means to bring together the divided Korean Peninsula.
"There is no team under the committee that is preparing for unification by absorption or studying similar methods," he said in keynote speech at a forum in Seoul.
Chung also told reporters that he had used an inappropriate choice of words in his previous remarks.
"The committee revised multiple roadmaps for unification, and peaceful unification is the only choice to bring the two Koreas together," he said.
The controversy took place amid dormant inter-Korean dialogue between President Park Geun-hye and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, who both offered in January to hold an inter-Korean summit this year.
Chung and outgoing Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae are two vice chairmen of a unification committee spearheaded by the President.
Paik Hak-soon, the director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, said it is believable that the government is open to a forceful assimilation of the reclusive state.
Paik speculated that Chung's remarks could risk efforts to thaw Seoul's frayed ties with Pyongyang
"I would not say Chung made a slip of the tongue because he gave a detailed description of the committee's role on possible unilateral absorption of North Korea," Paik said.
"I'd say the government has been focusing on methods for inter-Korean unification over the inter-Korean trust-building process, which is a prerequisite to end the divided Korean Peninsula.
"Pyongyang has considered Seoul's unification policies as a move to tear down and assimilate its regime. And I think Chung's remark could provoke North Korea further."
In a lecture organized by Korea Reserve Officers' Training Corps in Seoul Tuesday, Chung said unification based on consensus between the Koreas as well as a non-peace accord are other ways to achieve inter-Korean unification.
He also said, "There's a team under the committee's wing that exclusively studies unification based on a non-peace accord."
Chung denied his remarks amid claims that the Park government may be preparing for the unilateral absorption of the North.
Launched in July 2014, the committee is aimed at implementing the President's signature unification policies, namely the Dresden initiatives.
The initiatives seek to bolster cross-border exchanges as a first step toward building trust between the two Koreas to lay the groundwork for their unification.
The goals include South Korea investing in infrastructure, along with the construction of multi-farming complexes in North Korea, collaborative projects with China and Russia, and joint natural resource development projects.
The initiatives, however, have provoked Pyongyang, which claims they are intended to tear down and assimilate its regime.
