North Korea has shown no response to South Korea’s new unification vision as it has apparently yet to institutionalize leader Kim Jong-un’s policy of “two hostile states,” the new secretary general of Seoul’s advisory council on unification said Wednesday.

Last month, President Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled a vision for unification with North Korea that focuses on promoting freedom in the unification of the two Koreas, in addition to expanding access to outside information within the reclusive nation, and proposing an official dialogue channel.

North Korea has kept mum about Yoon’s “unification doctrine,” as Kim redefined inter-Korean relations as those between “two states hostile to each other and labeled South Korea as his country’s invariably principal enemy.”

Tae Yong-ho, a prominent North Korean defector and the chief of the secretariat of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council (PUAC), said the North’s silence seems to be due to its unpreparedness in fully theorizing Kim’s policy of beefed-up animosity t
oward the South.

“I believe North Korea has not yet fully established the theoretical framework to justify the policy internally,” Tae told a press conference.

Tae Yong-ho, the new secretary general of the Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, speaks to reporters in Seoul on Sept. 4, 2024, in this photo provided by the council. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

Touching on defections by North Korean elites, Tae suggested that more defections from North Korean diplomats and their families might occur in the future, without providing further details.

“Since these defections are still ongoing, it’s not appropriate to disclose the country or the incident. However, I’ve heard that in some cases, children of diplomats ran away to South Korea, prompting their parents to pack up and return to Pyongyang,” he said.

Among North Korean defectors with so-called elite backgrounds is Ri Il-gyu, a former counselor of political affairs at the North Korean Embassy in Cuba. He defected to South Korea with his family last Nove
mber.

Tae took office in July, marking the first time that a North Korean defector has been appointed to a deputy ministerial position.

“My appointment as the head of the (PUAC) secretariat demonstrates that South Korea is not exclusive and evaluates people based on their abilities, even for bureaucratic positions,” Tae said.

Tae previously served as a North Korean deputy ambassador to Britain before defecting to South Korea in 2016. In 2020, he was elected as a lawmaker for the affluent Gangnam district in Seoul as a member of the ruling People Power Party but failed to secure a second term in the April parliamentary elections.

As part of key projects for this year, Tae said the PUAC plans to establish a special committee aimed at assisting North Korean defectors to help them better settle in South Korea.

Source: Yonhap News Agency