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Lee In-young, nominee to become the next South Korean unification minister, speaks during his confirmation hearing by the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on July 23. (Yonhap News)

Minister of Unification nominee Lee In-young said on July 23 that he plans to “take the initiative in pursuing bold changes to turn the ‘North Korea-US time’ into ‘inter-Korean time.’”

In introductory remarks at a National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee confirmation hearing that day, Lee said, “The starting point for progress in simultaneous advancement [of inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations] lies in the restoration of inter-Korean relations.”

“Even if North Korea-US relations stall, inter-Korean relations need to continue moving forward with their own goal,” he added.

Lee also said the “train of peace on the Korean Peninsula is proceeding on the two rails of inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations.”

“I look forward to North Korea setting aside its approach of causing strain in inter-Korean relations just because its dialogue with the US is not working,” he said.

Stressing that “principles need to be firmly established and institutionalized if inter-Korean relations are to undergo continuous advancement,” Lee said, “More than anything, we need to observe the principle that humanitarian issues -- issues of food, of suffering, and of the things we want to see before we die -- need to be kept separate from political issues and should not be halted under any circumstances.”

Insisting on the need for a “future-oriented discourse of peace and reunification suited to a new era,” he pledged to “work with the public to create a four-stage road map for peace and the economy on the Korean Peninsula so that South and North can co-exist and proper together, with an eye toward the 100th anniversary of liberation in 2045.”

He also announced plans to “pursue a grand journey for the Korean Peninsula peace process that involves going beyond the beginning stage of free transit and investment between South and North to prepare for financial and political reunification based on a stage of industry and resource alliance and market and currency integration.”

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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