Latest news with #MinistryofUnification
Saudi Gazette
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Saudi Gazette
North Korea defectors in SK public sector at record high
SINGAPORE — There are now more North Korean defectors working in the South's public sector than ever before, Seoul has said. By the end of 2024, 211 North Korean defectors held jobs in the public sector, 17 more than the previous year, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement on Wednesday. That number is the highest since 2010, when North Korean defectors "began to enter the public service in earnest", the ministry said. Seoul has been widening its support for North Korean defectors who struggle with unemployment and social isolation as they adjust to their new lives in the South. "There is a growing need to expand opportunities for North Korean defectors to enter public service so that they can directly participate in and contribute to the government's policymaking," the ministry said. Authorities in Seoul have in recent years intensified social integration programmes. It has also offered financial support and tax incentives for companies who hire North Korean an event on Wednesday, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho shared a meal with North Korean defectors in public service are about 30,000 North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. But defections have waned since the pandemic, which saw countries shut their borders. Before 2020, more than 1,000 North Koreans fled to the South every Korean defectors are denounced by the regime, and rights groups say that those caught escaping to the South are punished with imprisonment and July, former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was named the new leader of South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification - the first defector to be given such a high rank in South Korea's 2020, Tae became the first defector to be elected to South Korea's National had called him "human scum" and accused him of crimes including defectors offer a rare look into the highly secretive regime under leader Kim Jong Un. They have told stories of human rights abuses under the regime, including widespread starvation, forced labor and state-enforced many of them face serious challenges as they settle into their new lives: difficulties finding and holding down jobs, social stigma and mental health issues stemming from traumatic experiences in the North. — BBC
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
North Korea defectors in SK public sector at record high
There are now more North Korean defectors working in the South's public sector than ever before, Seoul has said. By the end of 2024, 211 North Korean defectors held jobs in the public sector, 17 more than the previous year, the Ministry of Unification said in a statement on Wednesday. That number is the highest since 2010, when North Korean defectors "began to enter the public service in earnest", the ministry said. Seoul has been widening its support for North Korean defectors who struggle with unemployment and social isolation as they adjust to their new lives in the South. "There is a growing need to expand opportunities for North Korean defectors to enter public service so that they can directly participate in and contribute to the government's policymaking," the ministry said. Authorities in Seoul have in recent years intensified social integration programmes. It has also offered financial support and tax incentives for companies who hire North Korean defectors. At an event on Wednesday, Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho shared a meal with North Korean defectors in public service roles. There are about 30,000 North Korean defectors residing in South Korea. But defections have waned since the pandemic, which saw countries shut their borders. Before 2020, more than 1,000 North Koreans fled to the South every year. North Korean defectors are denounced by the regime, and rights groups say that those caught escaping to the South are punished with imprisonment and torture. Last July, former North Korean diplomat Tae Yong-ho was named the new leader of South Korea's presidential advisory council on unification - the first defector to be given such a high rank in South Korea's government. In 2020, Tae became the first defector to be elected to South Korea's National Assembly. Pyongyang had called him "human scum" and accused him of crimes including embezzlement. The defectors offer a rare look into the highly secretive regime under leader Kim Jong Un. They have told stories of human rights abuses under the regime, including widespread starvation, forced labour and state-enforced disappearances. But many of them face serious challenges as they settle into their new lives: difficulties finding and holding down jobs, social stigma and mental health issues stemming from traumatic experiences in the North.
Korea Herald
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Panmunjom tourism to partially resume in form of special tour
Tour of Joint Security Area opens with special designated tour, planned to reopen to general public in future Designated civilian tours of the Panmunjom truce village — suspended amid heightened military tensions between the two Koreas — are set to partially resume this week. According to the Ministry of Unification, 17 trained employees of the National Institute for Unification Education will participate in a special tour of the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone on Friday. Located approximately 50 kilometers north of Seoul, the area has long been used as a venue for inter-Korean talks. "We've established thorough safety measures for visitors and cooperated with the UN Command, and decided to partially begin operation with the special tours for now," a ministry official said. The ministry did not say when tours will be open to the general public, and vowed to resume visits if the special tours do not present significant problems. Panmunjom tours, organized by the ministry, grant civilians access to the South-controlled section of the truce village. The tours were initially opened to the general public following a 2018 inter-Korean agreement aimed at easing military tensions, which included the disarmament of Panmunjom. Tours were suspended after US Army Pvt. Travis King crossed the border into North Korea during a tour in July 2023. Despite temporarily resuming in November of that year, subsequent military tensions, such as North Korean forces arming themselves, forced the full shutdown of tour operations. The upcoming tour marks the first tour for Korean civilians since November 2023. Foreign nationals, such as Korean War veterans, had visited the area via United Nations Command programs, while tours held by the ministry remained on hold. The NIUE said that the agency has had an array of petitions for the tour programs to be resumed.
Iraqi News
13-02-2025
- Politics
- Iraqi News
North Korea demolishes facility for family reunions: Seoul
INA- sources North Korea has begun dismantling a facility where families separated by a decades-old war could meet on the border with South Korea, Seoul said on Thursday, the North's latest action to highlight what it says is the permanent division of the peninsula. Occasional reunions of elderly relatives separated during the 1950-53 Korean War were one of the few acts of compassion between the two Koreas and invariably raised hopes for reconciliation. But relations between North and South Korea have deteriorated to their worst in years as the North pursues its nuclear and missile programmes and threatens to unleash devastation on South Korea and its U.S. ally. 'The government has confirmed that North Korea is demolishing the reunion center for separated families in the North's Mount Kumgang tourist area, which crushes the desire of separated families to be reunited,' said Koo Byung-sam, a spokesperson at South Korea's Ministry of Unification, which oversees inter-Korean relations. The reunion center in North Korea's Mount Kumgang tourist area, a joint tourism project allowing South Koreans to visit, was built in 2008 with South Korean funding to facilitate meetings between families separated by the Cold War division of the peninsula. The center became a focus for inter-Korean reconciliation efforts following a 2000 summit between the two nations' leaders and it hosted several rounds of reunions. But family reunions were suspended in 2010 after tensions escalated following deadly North Korean attacks on the South's Cheonan warship and Yeonpyeong Island. Reunions resumed in 2013 and also took place in 2018 but deteriorating relations as the North focused on its nuclear ambitions put an end to them. The demolition of the reunion facility reflects a recently launched North Korean drive to sever ties completely with South Korea and rule out once and for all any hope they can ever be reunited. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pledged last year to amend the constitution to declare South Korea the 'primary and immutable enemy,' abandoning the established notion of the South being a partner in reconciliation and reunification. Kim added that he no longer saw South Koreans as being members of the same ethnicity. 'Stop this demolition' South Korea called on the North to halt its destruction of the facility, Koo said, adding that the South would consider necessary steps, including legal measures. 'The government expresses strong regret over the unilateral demolition of the facility, which was established by agreement between the two Koreas, and strongly urges North Korea to immediately stop this demolition,' he said. 'The North's unilateral demolition cannot be justified by any excuse, and all responsibility for this situation should be borne entirely by the North Korean authorities,' said the spokesperson. The Korean War left millions of families separated, with little to no contact mainly due to isolationist North Korea's restrictions. Government-arranged reunions, though rare, provided fleeting moments of reconnection, giving tearful relatives the chance to see and embrace long-lost loved ones. Many family members still hope for a final chance to meet their kin. As of the end of last year, 97,350 South Korean separated family members had died leaving 36,941 surviving registered separated family members, according to data released by the Ministry of Unification on Jan. 30. source: rfi
