The Korean government has pledged to substantially boost dialogue, enhance inter-Korean ties and upgrade the quality of inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation.

Four government ministries announced their 2015 plans to prepare for unification at a policy briefing on January 19. They were the ministries of unification, foreign affairs, national defense and patriots & veterans affairs.


The Ministry of Unification will enact its so-called Unification Charters which contain its visions and principles for unification. They also include its future cooperation goals with related organizations, including the unification preparatory committee and the National Unification Advisory Council. The ministry will also enact a new law to lay the foundation for peaceful unification. It will urge North Korea to resume talks between the two Korean authorities in order to discuss the humanitarian issues of separated families, POWs detained in North Korea and those who have been kidnapped to the North. The charters will also include President Park’s "Dresden Initiative" for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula, measures to extend aid to new mothers and infants, and create farming complexes for North Korean farmers in order to improve their livelihoods.

In this regard, President Park Geun-hye said, “I hope we can start with exchanges, cooperation and dialogue which will be substantially helpful for the lives of both the South and North Korean peoples. In order to upgrade the quality of inter-Korean exchanges and to cooperate on a small level, we need to first begin with substantial dialogue in order to prepare for unification of the Korean Peninsula.”



The government will also carry out test-operations of the Trans-Korea Railway (TKR) network. This train network will connect to mainland China and to the Trans-Siberian Railway. The unification ministry announced that it will conduct TKR test runs as soon as possible. The TKR will link Busan and Najin on the eastern side of the peninsula and Mokpo in Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province) to Sinuiju on the western side of the peninsula, making an X-shape across the Korean Peninsula. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that it will conduct test-operations of the so-called Eurasia Friendship Railway which will ink Seoul to Berlin via China, Russia and other countries.

In regard to inter-Korean economic cooperation, the unification ministry will build infrastructure for an inter-Korean joint economic community and will help to globalize the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex by attracting investment from overseas. The ministry will also extend its ongoing logistics projects involving the city of Khasan in Russia and of Najin in North Korea. This will speed up the establishment of infrastructure for the inter-Korean economic community, the ministry said.

Seoul will also make extended efforts in order to raise understanding for the need of unification. The unification ministry will propose that it and Pyongyang form a committee between the two Koreas to jointly commemorate the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberalization and to jointly organize events in various fields, including music, the arts, sports and religion. In this regard, the ministry will also organize events such as the “Unification Expo 2015” in cooperation with related organizations, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the unification preparatory committee. It also plans to open “Cultural Centers for the South and North Korean Peoples” in both Seoul and Pyongyang, and support social and cultural exchanges in the private sector.

The government will also deepen its efforts to create a virtuous circle by connecting the denuclearization of North Korea to improvements in inter-Korean relations. The unification ministry will begin its so-called “Vision Korea Project” which will depend on improvements in the denuclearization effort of North Korea. This project contains measures to set up infrastructure, such as railroad and road construction, and communications networks, to help the North join international organizations and to attract foreign investment so that North Korea can foster its own economic strength.

Regarding humanitarian support, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will set up a cooperative structure with international organizations such as the World Health Organization and UNICEF for the provision of humanitarian support to North Korea. The ministry will also bolster cooperation with international organizations and related countries in order to solve the issues of separated families and the protection and safe transfer of North Korean defectors.

In order to broaden understanding in the international community of a peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula, the foreign ministry has set up three goals: lead political change on the Korean Peninsula and in neighboring regions, build infrastructure which will, in turn, build trust for a peaceful unification, and, finally, strengthen Korea's global network in support of unification. To this aim, the ministry will work to strengthen the Korea-U.S. alliance and pursue new relations between Seoul and Tokyo.

Also at the briefing, military policies to back the government’s unification policy were announced. Minister of National Defense Han Minkoo said, “To back the government’s unification policy in terms of the military, we will seek to build trust by easing tension and by preparing military support in order to help inter-Korean exchanges and to help with the establishment of a DMZ Peace Park."

Minister Han also said that the defense ministry will develop a blueprint which will contain arms control measures in a gradual, step-by-step basis in order to draw up a national defense plan for a unified Korean Peninsula.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Cheong Wa Dae
arete@korea.kr