hankyoreh

chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council for Unification delivers a keynote speech at the 20th anniversary of the release of the Korean National Community Unification Plan held at the Seoul Plaza Hotel

“I suggest that South Korea and North Korea confirm the principles underscored in former agreements, including the Inter-Korean Basic Agreement, the Agreement for a Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula, the June 15 Joint Agreement, and the October 4 Summit Declaration without exception.”

Lee Hong-gu, chairman of the Presidential Advisory Council for Unification, made this suggestion at the 20th anniversary of the release of “The Korean National Community Unification Plan” held at Seoul Plaza Hotel, Sept. 10.

Lee’s suggestion can be interpreted as asking South Korea and North Korea not to adopt the attitude that both of them have accepted an agreement that they think gives themselves and not the other side an advantage, and to instead respect all existing inter-Korean agreements.

The Lee Myung-bak administration is reluctant to recognize the June 15 2000 Joint Declaration and October 4 2007 Summit Declaration that were made during the late Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun’s administrations. While, North Korea seems to believe that accepting the inter-Korean Basic Agreement and Agreement for a Nuclear-Free Korean Peninsula placed it at a disadvantage. The two agreement were made at a time when socialist countries were transitioning into capitalist states and North Korea was experiencing regime instability in the early 1990s.

Chairperson Lee also emphasized, “We should be entering a new stage in inter-Korean relations through unconditionally accepting prior agreements, including those on denuclearization.“

The suggestion from Chairperson Lee, who was appointed early this year when the Lee government completely overhauled the Presidential Advisory Council, carries considerable political meaning.

Chairperson Lee also served as unification minister when the “Korean National Community Unification Plan” was announced. The plan had suggested for the first time the concept of a Korean Commonwealth that could serve as an intermediate stage for unification.

The June 15 Joint Agreement established by former President Kim Dae-jung and North Korea Commissioner of National Defense Commission Kim Jong-il stipulates that there are some point of similarity between the Korean Commonwealth idea suggested by South Korea and a low-level Korean Federation idea suggested by North Korea.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]