| August 4 |
- Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun and
officials from Hyundai Asan Corp. visit the North (Mt.
Geumgang) to participate in the memorial ceremony to mark
the 11th anniversary of the death of former Chairman Chung
Mong-hun.
|
| August 7 |
-
The first meeting of the Presidential
Preparatory Committee for Unification presided over by
President Park is held. The government and civilian
vice-chairs make a report, followed by discussions.
※ Roles of the Presidential Preparatory Committee for
Unification (the President’s overall remarks): ① Create a
blueprint for unification that can touch the people’s
hearts, ② Play the role of a smart navigator along the way
toward unification, ③ Serve as a furnace of integration
where the people’s will for unification melts into one
|
| August 7 | - Peace 3000 consults regarding joint
events, including a joint mass between the South and the
North (Gaeseong).
|
| August
8 | - The National Olympic
Committee for North Korea notifies the secretariat of the
Olympic Council of Asia that it will attend the Draw
Ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games (August 20-22).
|
| August 11 | - The South’s chief delegate for the
high-level talks sends a message to his North Korean
counterpart proposing to hold the 2nd high-level talks at
Tongilgak on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom on August
19th, and expressing its intention to discuss mutual
interests, including the reunion of separated families, on
the occasion of Chuseok.
|
| August 11 | - The Ministry
of Unification announces that it plans to support the
Maternal and Child Health Care Project in North Korea
through WFP (7 million dollars) and WHO (6.3 million
dollars) from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund.
|
| August 12 |
- A North Korean fishing boat crosses the Northern Limit
Line (NLL) and retreats after the South Korean Navy fires
warning shots.
|
| August
13 | - The North’s Southwest
Frontline Military Command, in a press release, distorts the
facts, arguing that the South fired indiscriminately at a
North Korean fishing boat, and threatens retaliation.
|
| August 13 | - The National Council of Churches in
Korea holds the August 15 joint prayer service in Pyongyang
(August 13-16).
|
| August
14 | - The Committee for the
Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland issues a statement
repeating its existing claims, such as stopping the
Ulchi-Freedom Guardian (UFG) military exercises and lifting
the May 24 Measures, and arguing for addressing fundamental
issues first on the occasion of August 15.
|
| August 14 | - Two
North Korean citizens defect to the South via Gyodong Island
in Incheon.
|
| August 14 |
-
Pope Francis becomes the first acting Pope
to visit South Korea in 25 years and delivers messages of
peace for the Korean Peninsula (August 14-18). ※
Key messages: △ South Korea’s pursuit for peace will affect
stability across the world, as well as in this region, △
Peace can be achieved through dialogue where people
patiently listen to what others say, not by slandering or
criticizing each other or by armed protests △ The Korean
Peninsula will be gradually united as one and I will pray
for it.
|
| August 14 |
- The North submits a list of 352
delegates, including 150 athletes in 14 sports, for the
Incheon Asian Games via the Olympic Council of Asia
(OCA).
|
| August 15 | -
In her congratulatory speech on the
occasion of the National Liberation Day, President Park
proposes to open up channels for the environment, the
livelihood of people, and culture, urging the North to
give up its nuclear program and respond to the South’s
proposal for high-level talks. ※ Key messages:
(Environmental cooperation) Connect and restore the severed
ecosystem on the Korean Peninsula, jointly manage the
forestries and the rivers that run from the North to the
South, and encourage the North to participate in the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity in Pyeongchang in October; (The livelihood of
people) Need to increase the reunion of separated families
and humanitarian assistance, commence in full swing the
cooperation for the building of infrastructure that supports
the livelihood of people, share the South’s economic
development know-how in the long term, and present a new
growth model (utilize the North’s rich resources and
workforce); (Culture) Jointly excavate and preserve our
invaluable cultural assets and propose a joint cultural
project to commemorate next year’s 70th anniversary of
national liberation.
|
| August
17 | - A spokesperson for the
General Staff Department of the Korean People’s Army, in a
statement, calls for stopping the UFG military exercises and
threatens to launch a preemptive strike.
|
| August 17 | - The
Korean Asia-Pacific Peace Committee delivers a wreath to
commemorate the fifth anniversary of the death of former
President Kim Dae-jung (August 18th) in Gaeseong via Kim
Yang-geon, Director of the United Front Department.
|
| August 18 | - The Unification Ministry spokesperson,
in a statement, urges the North to respond to the South’s
proposal to hold high-level talks (August 11th).
|
| August 18 |
- North Korea’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, in a
statement, threatens a “higher level of self-defense
response” regarding the UFG.
|
| August 18 | -
The ROK government reports the 「2014 Action
Plan of the Master Plan for Inter-Korean Relations
Development」 to the Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade
Committee of the National Assembly.
- ※ Main
contents: △ Implement measures to build political and
military trust, △ Address humanitarian issues substantially,
△ Promote social and cultural exchanges to restore a sense
of unity between South and North Korea, and △ Open up a
standing dialogue channel between South and North Korean
authorities.
|
| August 19 |
- The delegates of the National
Olympic Committee for North Korea visit the South regarding
the Draw Ceremony of the Incheon Asian Games (August 19-23).
The North proposes to consult practical business affairs
through the exchange of documents later while delivering a
letter that includes a plan to dispatch a total of 273
delegates, including 150 athletes.
|
| August 19 | - President
Park stresses at a Cabinet meeting that we first need to do
things that are possible at this point to build trust
between South and North Korea, urging the North to respond
to the South’s proposal made on August 15th.
|
| August 22 |
- The Unification Ministry spokesperson, in his briefing,
announces that the ROK government will accept the North’s
proposal for consultations through the exchange of documents
and continue necessary consultations with the North.
|
| August 25 | - At a press conference, North Korean
Deputy UN Representative Ri Dong-il says that the North sent
a letter to the UN Security Council that the ROK-U.S. joint
military exercises should be brought up as an agenda,
raising issue with the UFG military exercises to the
international community.
|
| August 26 | - The Organizing
Committee of the Incheon Asian Games sends a letter that
includes its position on the size of the North Korean
delegation and the manner of their travel to North Korea’s
National Olympic Committee.
|
| August 28 | - Son Kwang-ho,
the vice-chairman of North Korea’s National Olympic
Committee, appears on Korean Central Television and
expresses the North’s position that a cheering squad will
not participate in the Incheon Asian Games.
|
| August 29 | - The
Unification Ministry spokesperson, in his briefing, explains
that the ROK government will welcome the North’s delegates
and cheering squad, offer them convenience in accordance
with international practices, and continue cooperation, thus
positively contributing to inter-Korean relations.
|
| August 29 | - A spokesperson of the Committee for the
Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, in a statement,
claims that the South should stop the ROK-U.S. joint
military exercises if it is really interested in
dialogue.
|
