hankyoreh

BEIJING - “I will handle North Korea with policies that are agreeable to everyone,” said Kim Ha-joong, a career diplomat who has been appointed to lead the Unification Ministry. The ministry is charged with working toward reconciliation with North Korea.

Kim, South Korea’s current ambassador to Beijing, said on March 3 that he would carry out his new duties “according to time and circumstance.”

”Given the government’s pragmatism, its move toward globalization and its policy of providing aid to North Korea in return for denuclearization, I will find policies on which the general public can agree,” the minister-designate said.

“In 2000, when I stayed at North Korea’s Baekhwawon state guest house while accompanying then-President Kim Dae-jung, I was filled with emotion,” Kim said, adding, “I will work with love on North Korean affairs.”

“Whenever I think about North Korea, I feel my heart tearing and there are tears in my eyes,” the minister-designate said. “At the time of the North Korean visit, I prayed on my knees for North Korea to become prosperous under the blessings of God,” Kim said.

Asked about whether the sunshine policy of engaging North Korea, a policy initiative carried out under former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun, the minister-designate said, “I will discuss it at the confirmation hearing. The president has one stance, and I have my view, so you will understand when I give my replies at the hearing,” Kim said.

On the matter of North Korean defectors, Kim said, “Since taking the post of ambassador to China, I have accepted North Korean defectors some 430 times, and sent nearly all of them to South Korea after changing the policy of not accepting North Korean defectors. If you consider this, you will understand my views on the matter,” Kim said.


With apparent awareness about criticism in the media that he may not have a good understanding of North Korean affairs, Kim said, “While working as the ambassador to China, I had contact with North Korean people. Such experiences will help me in my new position.”

“I have met with the North Korean ambassador to China many times, since I was involved in the six-party talks on the North’s nuclear program,” he said. “At the time of the announcement of the September 19 Joint Declaration in 2005, I had boilermakers with North Korean delegates.” In South Korea, drinking is thought to foster closer relationships.

Commenting on China’s response to his nomination, Kim said, “The Chinese government seems to welcome the idea that a China specialist has been nominated to the South Korean Cabinet.” Kim is the highest-ranking China specialist among South Korean diplomats.

He went on to say, “When a person specializes in China, that person falls in love with it. When you have affection for China and understand the country, you can hear the voices of the Chinese people.” As a China specialist, Kim says he has a deep affection for the country, while his years as a foreign diplomat have given him a better understanding of it. As Seoul’s ambassador to Beijing, he has built connections with some 80 Chinese people, five of whom are Chinese minister-level officials, according to Kim.



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