| January
1 | - The ROK President gives a
New Year message, stating "The ROK Government will
strive to maintain an impregnable security posture and
prepare specific contingency plans against any possible
provocation by the North. Building on this, the Government
will redouble its efforts to further promote peace on the
Korean Peninsula and lay the groundwork for peaceful
unification."
|
| January
1 | - Kim Jong Un delivers a New
Year speech, stating "A favorable climate should be
established for improved relations between the North and the
South...... We will join hands with anyone who opts to give
priority to the nation and wishes for its unification,
regardless of his or her past, and continue to strive for
better inter-Korean relations.”
|
| January 3 | - The
Unification Ministry spokesperson announces the government‘s
position on the North Korea‘s New Year speech, stating that
the North should first show sincerity in building trust
towards improving inter-Korean relations.
|
| January 6 | - In her
New Year press conference, President Park proposes the
establishment of groundwork for an era of a unified Korea as
one of the key administrative tasks for this year, and
emphasizes resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue,
strengthened humanitarian aid, an increase in exchanges in
the private sector, and the resumption of reunions for
separated families. As regards to the public‘s concerns over
the cost of unification, President Park refers to
unification as a "bonanza," stressing that
unification would lead to great economic growth in the
South.
|
| January 6 | - The president of the Korean Red Cross
sends a message to the Chairman of the Central Committee of
the North Korean Red Cross Society to propose the holding of
inter-Korean working-level Red Cross meetings at Tongilgak
in the northern part of Panmunjom to discuss reunions for
war-separated families on Lunar New Year‘s Day.
|
| January 9 |
- Pyongyang sends a message to Seoul through its
secretariat of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification
of the Fatherland refusing to hold working-level Red Cross
meetings, citing the South‘s military drills.
|
| January 9 |
- The Unification Ministry spokesperson expresses regret
over Pyongyang‘s linking the annual military exercises with
humanitarian issues and urged Pyongyang to accede to the
reunions.
|
| January 15 |
- The government approves three NGOs
(South-North Sharing, Seomgim, and Love One Korea) to
provide North Korean infants, toddlers, and children with
items worth 425 million won including bread ingredients,
powdered formula, and underwear.
|
| January 15 | - Pyongyang, in
a statement issued by the Committee for the Peaceful
Reunification of the Fatherland, demands Seoul stop the
joint ROK-US military exercises while arguing that
inter-Korean relations were potentially headed towards
catastrophe.
|
| January 16 |
- North Korea‘s National Defense
Commission (NDC) demands three items in their
"significant proposals": (i) to
take practical measures to create an atmosphere of better
inter-Korean relations; (ii) to
take practical measures to completely cease all military
hostilities against each other; and (iii) to take
realistic measures to prevent nuclear disasters.
|
| January 17 |
- In response to these “significant proposals,” the
Ministry of Unification expresses regrets over the North‘s
distortion of facts and emphasized that the issue of
war-separated families is a pressing issue of purely
humanitarian ends, and should not be associated with
political or military circumstances.
|
| January 17 | - The South
and North agree on a timeline to hold a Joint Subcommittee
for 3Cs (January 24) through consultations of the
South-North Joint Committee for the Gaeseong Industrial
Complex.
|
| January 20 |
- Kenneth Bae, an American missionary
detained in North Korea, holds a press conference to appeal
to the U.S. government, the press, and his family to strive
to secure his freedom.
|
| January 24 | - South and
North Korea holds the fourth round of the Joint Subcommittee
for 3Cs for the GIC.
|
| January
24 | - The NDC releases an open
letter calling for the South to respond to its
"significant proposals."
|
| January 24 | - The
Ministry of Unification announces in its spokesperson‘s
statement the government‘s stance on the North‘s open letter
that the North should first prove its sincerity through
action because whether or not the North‘s "important
proposal" is a camouflaged peace offensive cannot be
determined by words.
|
| January
24 | - The chairman of the Central
Committee of the North Korean Red Cross Society sends a
message to the president of the Korean Red Cross to accept
the South‘s proposal concerning the reunions of separated
families.
|
| January 24 |
- The Ministry of Unification states
in its spokesperson‘s message that the ROK government
welcomes the North‘s acceptance of the South‘s proposal for
the inter-Korean family reunions, although late.
|
| January 27 |
- The president of the Korean Red Cross sends a message to
the chairman of the Central Committee of the North Korean
Red Cross Society proposing the timeline of the reunions of
separated families (February 17-22) as well as the holding
of inter-Korean Red Cross working-level meetings to prepare
for the reunions at Tongilgak in the northern part of
Panmunjom on January 29.
|
| January 27 | - The
secretariat of the National Defense Commission Policy
Department sends a message to the National Security Office
under the Blue House demanding that the South halt its navy
shooting drills and threatens that the South would pay
dearly if it continues the drills.
|
| January 28 | - The ROK
Ministry of Defense sends a message to the North through its
policy planning officer stressing that routine military
drills should not affect the reunions of separated families,
warning that Seoul would react sternly to any provocations
by Pyongyang.
|
| January
28 | - Test operations starts for
the RFID-based electronic entry system for the GIC.
|
| January 31 | - In response to the North‘s delayed
replies to the South‘s proposal for working-level Red Cross
meetings, the Minister of Unification expressed regret over
the North‘s ambiguous attitude and called for Pyongyang to
promptly respond to the request for the reunions. (Words of
encouragement at a joint memorial service for
ancestors)
|
