Date: Monday, November 16, 2020
Time: 10:30-10:36 A.M.
1. Minister's Schedule
Minister Lee In-young will attend the 317th Consultative Meeting on
Promotion of Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation today at 11 A.M.
On November 17, Minister Lee will attend the cabinet meeting at 10 A.M.
On November 18, Minister Lee will have a video conference with
former Defense Secretary William Perry and executive vice chairperson
of the National Unification Advisory Council Jeong Se-hyun at 10:30 A.M.
On November 19, Minister Lee will attend the National Assembly’s
plenary session at 2 P.M.
On November 20, Minister Lee will attend a debate on inter-Korean
health and medical services cooperation held at the National Cancer
Center’s Center for Health and Peace at 10 A.M.
2. Vice Minister’s Schedule
Vice Minister Suh Ho will deliver congratulatory remarks at a
general meeting of the Unification Council of Korea on November 18 at
5 P.M.
On November 19, Vice Minister Suh will attend the vice-ministers’
conference at 10:30 A.M.
3. Q&A (Extract)
Q. The North’s KCNA reported today that Chairman Kim Jong Un
presided over a politburo meeting, but there is still no mention of
the U.S. presidential election results. How does the Ministry evaluate
the North’s silence?
A. Though U.S. election results are now practically finalized, the
North has not shown any response yet. Some analysts claim the North is
remaining silent as the election is yet to be confirmed legally. The
government is keeping a close eye on the situation and will continue
to do so.
Q. Chairman Kim reportedly talked about eradicating criminal acts by
party committees at the politburo meeting. How does the Ministry
interpret the internal situation in North Korea?
A. By noting that the party committee of Pyongyang University of
Medicine “committed a serious crime” through a KCNA report, the North
publically acknowledged that there was a corruption problem.
Similarly, officials of the party cadre training institution were
reportedly harshly criticised at a politburo meeting held in February.
However, there has been no report detailing what crime was committed,
leaving us with nothing to comment on.
