Editor’s Note

Yungho Kim, the Minister of Unification, elaborates on the ROK’s vision of a “free and peaceful, unified Korea.” He emphasizes that the Trilateral Camp David Summit in August 2023 marked a significant milestone for the ROK’s North Korea policy, reaffirming the “values-based” approach that prioritizes freedom, democracy, and human rights. Acknowledging that the ROK’s vision cannot be realized without securing human rights and freedom of the North Korean residents, the Ministry strives to raise global awareness on the issue, promote constructive roles from China and Russia, coordinate with international organizations like the UN, and depoliticize the provision of humanitarian aid. Assessing his first 100 days in office as a period of internal restructuring to conduct effective unification diplomacy, Minister Kim reiterates the Ministry’s commitment to achieve North Korea’s complete denuclearization, human rights improvement, greater international consensus towards the ROK’s vision of free and peaceful, unified Korea, and defector settlement support.