South Korea's new unification minister nominee said Seoul should resume humanitarian projects. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI |
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July 20 (UPI) -- South Korea's unification chief nominee said Seoul should push forward independently with inter-Korea humanitarian projects -- and without necessarily consulting the United States.
Lee In-young, 56, a former lawmaker and supporter of engagement with North Korea, said at a parliamentary hearing of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee that Seoul needs to more boldly pursue projects that affect the health and welfare of ordinary North Koreans, local news service Newsis reported Monday.
Humanitarian areas including, food, healthcare and family reunions are sectors in which South Korea should be able to act with discretion, or "on its own," Lee told lawmakers.
According to Lee, the South Korean government has the financial means to deliver 200,000 tons of rice through the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, a government fund set aside for economic as well as socio-cultural exchange.
The South Korean nominee said as unification minister he would seek to resume inter-Korea family reunions. If large-scale reunions are not possible, Lee said he would look into less ambitious events, as well as video or virtual reunions through online networks.
Lee also said as unification minister, he would see to it there would be no more cancellations that impacted the delivery of medicine to North Korea. In 2019 and 2020, the South attempted to deliver Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used to treat flu symptoms but the shipment never made its way to the North, according to Newsis.
"This should never happen again," Lee said.
Lee has been nominated to the top post for inter-Korea affairs at a time when the United States and South Korea could be increasingly at odds over various issues, including the leafleting campaigns of North Korean defectors in the South.
The June 15 Joint Declaration Committee, a South Korean civic group committed to engagement with the North, condemned reports the U.S. State Department is providing indirect support for North Korean defector leafleting campaigns, News 1 reported Monday.
Voice of America reported Thursday a State Department official had stressed the importance of access to information in North Korea, a statement the committee said was "interfering in South Korean affairs."
