On July 15, government officials shared outcomes from President Lee Jae-myung's visits to NATO and Mongolia, and discussed various issues including the Coupang situation, the Sado mine controversy, and inter-Korean relations.
Members of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, affiliated with the Democratic Party, held a meeting with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Unification in the National Assembly. They received reports from the ministries and engaged in a question-and-answer session.
Hong Gi-won, the ruling party's secretary for the Foreign Affairs Committee, spoke to reporters after the meeting, stating, "We were supposed to hold a regular committee meeting, but due to the lack of committee formation, we proceeded with this consultation format. We heard reports from Foreign Minister Park Jin and Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young, and the ministers provided answers on various issues."
Hong explained that discussions included the outcomes of President Lee's NATO visit and Mongolia state visit, as well as the Coupang situation and the Sado mine issue. He noted, "There was a report on the results and achievements of the President's visits, along with future tasks. Regarding Coupang, we discussed the recent report released by the U.S. Congress, emphasizing the need to prevent it from becoming a major issue between South Korea and the U.S."
He added, "As for the Sado mine issue, the World Heritage Committee will meet this week in Busan. We will review whether Japan has fulfilled its commitments made when the Sado mine was designated as a World Cultural Heritage site two years ago, and discuss related matters."
Additionally, the Foreign Affairs Committee requested cooperation from the Ministry of Unification for the prompt legislative process of pending bills related to inter-Korean relations.
Hong stated, "There was a report on the achievements regarding inter-Korean relations since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung government. In the second half of the year, there was a request for budget cooperation on essential laws and major projects under the Ministry of Unification."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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