May 20, 2019. Excerpt from Opening Statement of the Party’s Supreme Council Meeting

“It is to be wished that Pyongyang will allow a group of South Korean business people to visit the closed industrial complex in Kaesong, increasing inter-Korean exchanges.”

   □ Lee Hae-chan, Chairman of the DPK  As the leader of the ruling party of Korea, I am sincerely welcoming the government’s decision to allow a group of South Korean businessmen to visit the closed Kaesong Industrial Complex and provide humanitarian aid to the North. The government on May 17 decided to let these businesspeople to go there for the first time since it was shut down in 2016. I believe the fact is of great importance that the U.S. and South Korean governments have reached a consensus on the need of an on-site inspection by South Korean companies to protect their property rights. In effect, the provision of eight million US dollars of humanitarian assistance to Pyongyang was decided in 2017. South Korea’s delayed donation project will be implemented in the form of a medical support program for North Korean children and pregnant women. The government’s decision was made under the rock-solid cooperation between the U.S. and South Korea, which has been established by a recent telephone dialogue between the leaders of the two countries and U.S. President Donald Trump’s scheduled state visit to Korea in June.  

It is to be hoped that Pyongyang will immediately allow South Korean businessmen to visit the Kaesong Industrial Complex. And I hope that the government will increase inter-Korean exchanges and humanitarian assistance to the North while maintaining the enforcement of sanctions against North Korea, which can in turn garner strong support from the international community. Increased inter-Korean exchanges and humanitarian aids as well as a growing consensus on inter-Korean economic cooperation are likely to improve a chance that the currently stalled dialogue will resume between Seoul and Pyongyang as well as Washington and Pyongyang. I am asking the leaders of the four opposition parties to accept the President’s proposal to hold a meeting with the leaders of the ruling and four rival parties. If the proposed meeting is realized, we will then have comprehensive discussions on pending issues including the government’s provision of humanitarian assistance such as food aid to North Korea, denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and establishment of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula.     

"北, 개성공단 기업인 방북 수용하길…교류 늘려야"

  □ 이해찬 당대표 정부가 개성공단 기업인의 방북을 승인하고 , 인도적 지원을 결정한 것을 당으로서는 대단히 환영하는 바다 . 지난 17 일 정부의 개성공단 방북 허용은 2016 년 2 월 중단된 이래 최초의 결정이다 . 우리 기업의 재산권 보호 차원에서 현장 점검의 필요성을 한미 당국이 공동으로 인정한 점이 매우 중요하다고 생각한다 . 인도적 지원 800 만 달러 공여는 2017 년 결정된 것이 미뤄진 것인데 , 북한 아동과 임산부에 대한 의료지원 사업이다 . 이번 결정은 한미정상 통화 , 6 월 트럼프 대통령 방한 합의 등 굳건한 한미 공조 하에 이루어지고 있다 .

  북한도 지체 없이 개성공단 기업인의 방북을 수용해 주기를 희망한다 . 정부는 앞으로도 대북제재의 틀을 지키면서도 국제 사회의 지지를 받을 수 있는 교류와 인도적 지원을 늘려가야 할 것이다 . 이러한 남북 교류 , 인도적 지원과 경협의 공감대가 확산될수록 한반도 비핵화를 위한 대화 여건도 성숙될 수 있다 . 야 4 당 대표들께서는 대통령께서 제안한 여야 5 당 대표 회동을 전격 수용하고 , 대북 식량 지원 등 인도적 지원과 한반도 비핵화 , 항구적인 평화체제 구축 논의에 동참하여 주실 것을 부탁드린다 .   

더불어민주당 국제국