[Excerpt from the 265th Supreme Council Meeting]

“Relations among Seoul, Pyongyang, and Washington

running in parallel.”   □ July 6, 2020 (Mon.) □ Venue: Conference Room of the Chairman at the Main Building■ Lee Hae-chan, Chairman of the DPK  

Given that relations among South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. remain apart, it is a very timely decision of the government to reshuffle the line-up of security and diplomatic aides. Lee In-young, former floor leader of the ruling party who was nominated as Minister of Unification, Park Ji-won, a former lawmaker who paved the way for a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and President Kim Dae-jung in 2000, was nominated to lead the National Intelligence Service (NIS), and Suh Hoon, former NIS chief, as the head of National Security Office. The new nominees are all well-versed in inter-Korean affairs and have a strong will to improve the relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang, which makes them the perfect pick for each position. They will help to break deadlock over the denuclearization talks. A one-day delay in improving relations among the two Koreas and the U.S. means a further delay in bringing peace and prosperity to the Korean Peninsula. These nominees need to take office as soon as possible to do their jobs. To that end, parliamentary confirmation hearings must be held at the earliest possible moment. In particular, holding a confirmation hearing for the NIS director nominee requires the appointment of the Vice-Speaker from the opposition parties and the formation of a parliamentary intelligence committee. In this sense, I am kindly asking the opposition parties to cooperate once again. It will be the first confirmation hearing in the 21st National Assembly. So I hope the hearing will be a venue where the ruling and opposition parties as well as the candidate to seek and discuss ways to address issues regarding national security and where the qualification of the candidate will be verified, instead of political parties engaging in nitpicking and disclosing personal information like the Assembly in the past. In this aspect, I also urge the opposition parties to take a forward-looking approach. The 21st National Assembly is encouraged to show its clear departure from the 20th National Assembly.  

“평행선을 달리고 있는 남·북·미 관계”

  □ 일시 : 2020년 7월 6일(월) 오전 9시 30분□ 장소 : 국회 본청 당대표회의실■ 이해찬 당대표

  남·북·미 관계가 평행선을 달리고 있다. 정부의 외교라인 개편은 매우 시의적절하다. 통일부 장관에 지명된 이인영 의원님과 국정원장에 지명된 박지원 전 의원님, 국가안보실장에 임명된 서훈 전 국정원장님 모두 한반도 상황에 정통하시고 의지와 격려를 갖춘 분들로 현재의 교착 상태를 돌파하실 적임자들이다. 남북, 북미관계 개선이 하루 늦으면 한반도 평화와 번영이 그보다 더 많이 지체되기 마련이다. 신속하게 임명되어 일을 하셔야 한다. 이를 위해서는 국회 청문회가 조속히 치러져야 한다. 특히 국정원장 인사청문회가 개최되려면 야당 몫의 국회부의장 선출과 정보위 구성이 필수적이다. 야당의 협조를 다시 한 번 요청한다. 21대 첫 인사청문회인데, 과거처럼 흠집잡기와 신상털기 자리가 아닌, 국가 안보를 위해 여야, 그리고 후보자가 함께 좋은 방안을 찾고 논의하며 검증하는 자리가 되기를 기대하겠다. 이 부분 역시 야당의 전향적인 자세를 당부 드린다. 21대 국회는 20대 국회와 분명히 다른 모습을 보여주길 기대하겠다.

2020년 7월 7일

더불어민주당 국제국