Date: Monday, July 27, 2020
Time: 10:30-10:35 A.M.
1. Acting Minister's Schedule
Acting Minister Suh Ho will attend the cabinet meeting at 8 A.M. tomorrow.
On July 29, Mr. Suh will deliver congratulatory remarks at a forum
scheduled to discuss post-corona inter-Korean cooperation against
infectious diseases held at the National Assembly at 7:30 A.M.
On July 30, Mr, Suh will attend the vice-ministers’ conference at
10:30 A.M.
2. Q&A (Extract)
Q. What is the Unification Ministry’s stance regarding the recent
finding of a North Korean defector crossing back into the North?
A. We are checking related information together with other
government agencies including the military and the police.
Q. Does the Ministry have any plans to conduct a full survey of
North Korean defectors that have returned back to the North?
A. I do not have anything to comment on regarding this. I reiterate
that the Ministry is checking related information together with other agencies.
Q. Does the Unification Ministry have statistics on the number of
defectors re-entering the North?
A. I can give you the numbers, but before doing so, I would like to
note that North Korean defectors are not obliged to report to the
government when they leave the country, just like any other ROK
citizens, making it difficult to locate the whereabouts of each individual.
The number of North Korean defectors that have crossed back into the
North in the past five years amount to 11 individuals – three in 2015,
four in 2016, and four in 2017. Their crossings have been confirmed
through official reports by the North. The current case is not
included in the count as it is still undergoing a confirmation process.
Q. Some say that the North’s reporting of the suspected Covid-19
patient shows its intentions to shift responsibility of the spread on
to the South. What is the Ministry’s take on this?
A. Checking and confirming the facts on the matter should come
first. Identifying who the defector is, and checking if this person is
infected with the virus should be the order of procedures.
