Approval of contact with civilian organizations related to North Korean humanitarian aid after 9 months
Ministry of Unification: “Limited to flood relief”
The government accepted a report on a private organization’s contact with North Korea for the purpose of providing flood relief on the 30th. As inter-Korean relations continue to be severed, the current government has mostly prohibited civilian contact with North Korea except for essential cases such as confirming the life or death of separated families, but has made the unusual decision to allow contact only for flood relief.
On this day, the Ministry of Unification completed the contact report acceptance procedure for 9 out of 10 organizations that submitted contact reports related to flood relief in July and August. It also plans to accept the contact report of 1 more organization soon. It has been approximately 9 months since the Ministry of Unification approved a plan for contact with North Korea for humanitarian exchange by a civilian organization since November of last year. According to the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act, any contact or communication with North Korean residents must be reported to the Ministry of Unification in advance and receive approval. In a regular briefing on this day, Deputy Spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification Kim In-ae stated, “The government has determined that it is most important for North Korean residents suffering from flood damage to return to their daily lives as soon as possible,” and “Despite the current state of inter-Korean relations, we have decided to allow contact by organizations that have applied so far for the purpose of flood relief.”
Since North Korea defined inter-Korean relations as a hostile relationship between two countries late last year and began to erase the nation and unification, the South Korea-related organization has been abolished, and there is no direct channel for civic groups to communicate with the North. For this reason, it has been reported that civic groups have reported plans for “indirect contact” to contact third-party intermediaries such as ethnic Koreans in China (Joseonjok) to understand the North’s intentions before making direct contact with the North.
On August 15, 2022, the government strengthened the screening of contact reporters and contact targets following the incident where the ‘Ambassador to the Democratic Labor Party’ by the General Federation of Trade Unions of Korea, a North Korean workers’ group, was read at the National Labor Convention hosted by the two major trade unions. This is because the Ambassador, which included anti-American struggles and the North Korean date notation method (Juche), received the approval of the Ministry of Unification and was legally sent and received. Until now, reports of civilian contact with the North have been accepted out of habit without proper review, and thus, in order to establish a system of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation, the decision on whether to accept or reject contact should be made according to law and principles. As a result of this policy of restricting contact with the North, reports of civilian contact themselves have also decreased. According to People Power Party lawmaker Kim Tae-ho, there were no reports of contact with the North related to humanitarian aid from February to June of this year.
It has been reported that there was opposition from relevant organizations during the review process of whether to accept the contact report this time. Ultimately, the government’s proactive decision to allow private indirect contact is interpreted as a measure taken in response to President Yoon Seok-yeol’s Liberation Day speech that clearly stated his policy of providing humanitarian aid to North Korea. In his speech, President Yoon stated, “We will continue to promote humanitarian aid to ensure the right to survival of North Korean citizens,” and “We will actively pursue humanitarian aid, including food and health, for vulnerable groups in North Korea, such as infants, women, the elderly, and the disabled.”
However, the Ministry of Unification clarified that this measure is a one-time measure to support flood response. Deputy Spokesperson Kim emphasized, “We are accepting (contact reports) only for the purpose of this flood support,” and “We are allowing contacts centered on essential matters under the (severed) inter-Korean relations.”
It is uncertain whether the acceptance of the contact report will lead to the resumption of civilian humanitarian exchanges between the South and the North. North Korea is not accepting any aid offers from international organizations, China, Russia, etc. regarding this flood. North Korea, which officially cut off inter-Korean relations, did not respond to the aid supplies proposed by the government through the Korean Red Cross on the 1st.
Reporter Shin Gyu-jin [email protected]
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2024-08-31 17:50:33