S. Korean unification minister hopes to set up reciprocal missions in Seoul and Pyongyang

Lee In-young proposes establishing liaison offices in Kaesong, Sinuiju, Rason

South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young (fourth right) poses for a photo after a debate in the National Assembly about inter-Korean relations on Nov. 23. (Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer)

South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young said on Nov. 23 that Seoul hopes to set up liaison offices and trade missions in the North Korean cities of Kaesong, Sinuiju, and Rason (Rajin-Sonbong), along with reciprocal missions in Seoul and Pyongyang.

“Rather than letting the demolished [Kaesong inter-Korean joint] liaison office go down as [another incident in] a history of hostility, we should rebuild it to bring in an even greater peace,” Lee said in the opening address to a debate in the National Assembly on Monday about productive ways to reopen inter-Korean organizations for communication and deliberation.

“A new period of change in inter-Korean relations will begin with resuming communication at the inter-Korean joint liaison office,” Lee said.

“Repairing the detonated building [of the Kaesong liaison office] would be difficult to accept because of South Korean public sentiment and North Korea’s pride,” said Kwon Taek-gwang, head of the national security research team at the Institute for National Security Strategy, one of the discussants at the debate.

Instead, Kwon called for active deliberation with the North about installing a new kind of liaison office in Pyongyang with the understanding that new offices would be built in Pyongyang, Kaesong, and Panmunjom before the existing building is repaired.

Comments by Lee In-young and other officials at the Ministry of Unification suggest that the government is leaning toward building new liaison offices in Pyongyang and other parts of North Korea rather than rebuilding the joint liaison office that the North Koreans blew up on June 16.

“It’s not out of the question that inter-Korean economic cooperation could begin faster than expected. I propose regular meetings between companies and the government to build a vision for inter-Korean economic cooperation in the post-COVID era,” Lee said during a luncheon with figures from the business community at the Lotte Hotel on Monday.

The luncheon was attended by Lee In-yong, president of Samsung Electronics, and by representatives from Samsung, Hyundai Motor, SK, LG, POSCO, and Hyundai-Asan.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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