Date: Monday, April 5, 2021
Time: 10:30-10:45 A.M.
1. Ministry of Unification to conduct survey of separated families
The Ministry of Unification will conduct the 2021 survey of
separated families starting April 6 and lasting until late October.
The survey on the actual condition of separated families is
conducted every five years under the ‘Act on Inter-Korean Confirmation
of the Life or Death of Separated Families and Promotion of Exchange.’
This year’s survey will be the third of its kind following those
conducted in 2011 and 2016.
The survey targets all separated families living at home and abroad,
including the 48 thousand or so families that are already registered
in the Integrated Information System for Separated Families as well as
those not yet registered.
The survey seeks to update the separated family register, find
unregistered families and assess their needs, and hear the voices of
separated families on issues including the desired method of exchange
considering the prolonged Covid-19 situation and aging separated families.
The Government will take exceptional precautionary measures against
Covid-19 in the survey process to ensure the safety of the elderly
separated family members.
Together with the survey, the Government will devise various
measures to fundamentally resolve the issue of separated families,
which is an urgent humanitarian issue.
As the leaders of the two Koreas have agreed to fundamentally
resolve the issue of separated families, the Government will continue
efforts to implement the agreements which includes holding video
reunions, exchanging video messages and opening a permanent facility
for family reunion meetings.
2. Hanawon to sign MOU with Korea Hana Foundation and Gyeonggido Job
Foundation on supporting employment and start-up businesses of North
Korean defectors
The Settlement Support Center for North Korean Refugees (hereinafter
referred to as Hanawon) will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU)
with the Korea Hana Foundation and Gyeonggido Job Foundation to
support employment and start-up businesses of North Korean defectors
on April 9.
Once the MOU is signed, Hanawon will share the job training and
career guidance consultation details of defectors with the two
foundations, and the foundations will promote customized internship
programs to provide quality employment opportunities for defectors.
The Government has made efforts to come up with necessary support
measures to secure stable jobs for North Korean defectors, recognizing
that doing so is essential to the settlement of defectors as members
of our society.
In addition, the Government has made continuous efforts to improve
the law concerning North Korean defectors, for example, by revising
the ‘North Korean Refugees Protection and Settlement Support Act’ to
allow the provision of administrative and financial support for North
Korean defectors interested in pursuing start-ups.
The Government also runs a wide range of programs to assist
defectors in finding jobs and advancing start-up businesses, including
farming and vocational training.
The Government will continue to pursue such efforts, based on the
understanding that resolving the separated families issue and
assisting North Korean defectors settle down is important in the
realization of humanitarianism and improvement of inter-Korean relations.
3. Q&A (Partial)
Q. With only one year remaining for the Moon administration, is it
possible to hold a reunion of separated families before the end of the
term? Also, does the Ministry have a position regarding the Foreign
Affairs Minister’s recent meetings with his Russian and Chinese
counterparts in which issues concerning denuclearization and the peace
process of the Korean Peninsula were discussed?
A. As previously mentioned, the leaders of the two Koreas in 2018
agreed to fundamentally resolve the issue of separated families, and
the Joint Declaration specifically notes that the two sides agreed to
open a permanent facility for family reunion meetings and to resolve
the issue of video meetings and exchange of video messages among the
separated families. The Government believes that it is important for
these agreements to be implemented as soon as possible, and we are
devising various methods to follow through.
For example, as face-to-face reunions are difficult under current
circumstances due to Covid-19, the Ministry is seeking to strengthen
the infrastructure that enables alternative options such as video
reunions. We have already completed such inspections and
supplementations of 13 video reunions centers in 2018 and 2019.
Furthermore, as most of the 13 centers are concentrated in the
metropolitan area, we plan to expand the location of video reunion
centers by building six to seven new centers nationwide.
With regards to your second question, I believe it is a question
about the various diplomatic meetings that took place last weekend. As
far as I know, relevant agencies have fully explained the results of
the ROK-U.S.-Japan security advisors’ meetings and the ROK-China
foreign ministers’ talks.
We have seen how the meeting between the three countries was
evaluated as fully achieving strategic communications on matters of
common interests, including the U.S. policy review on North Korea.
There will be more opportunities for consultation and coordination
between South Korea and the U.S., or between ROK-U.S.-Japan. The
Ministry will continue to make efforts to advance policy goals
concerning North Korea, such as achieving denuclearization and
settling peace on the Korean Peninsula, as well as improving
inter-Korean relations through such opportunities.
Q. My question was more about when reunions can be held. Is Covid-19
the only reason behind the delayed reunions, or are there other reasons?
A. The need to hold reunions of separated families at an early date
was not only agreed to by the leaders of the two Koreas, but also
mentioned in high-level talks and red-cross meetings between the South
and the North. Holding inter-Korean talks is crucial in promptly
resuming reunions. The Government will make efforts to create
necessary conditions for such talks to move forward, while also
searching for effective alternative measures mentioned earlier.
Q. North Korean state media has been reporting on the upcoming
conference of secretaries of party cells. Has the Ministry observed
any unusual trends related to the conference, and do you have any
information on previous such meetings? Does the Ministry believe
General Secretary Kim Jong Un will be attending?
A. The North had previously announced that it will be holding the
6th Conference of Cell Secretaries of the Workers’ Party in early
April, and state media reported of participants arriving in Pyeongyang
over the weekend and paying tribute to the mausoleum of its late
leaders. Through such reports, the Government understands that the
conference is imminent.
North Korea has already announced in January, upon revising its
party rules at the 8th Party Congress, that it would strengthen the
party’s basic organizations, and that it plans to hold the Conference
of Cell Secretaries every five years.
Meanwhile, North Korea has held a number of sector-specific meetings
after the 8th Party Congress, including meetings of the Supreme
People’s Assembly and the Party Central Committee. The Party Cell
Conference is also seen as part of a series of trends to encourage the
realization of tasks raised at the Party Congress.
The previous 5th conference was held on December of 2017, and this
conference marks the third of its kind.
We will closely monitor the possibility of President Kim Jong Un’s
attendance, keeping in mind the fact that Chairman Kim has attended
major party meetings this year.