▲ Kim Yung-ho, the nominee for South Korea's unification minister, speaks to reporters on June 30, 2023, as he prepares for a parliamentary confirmation hearing. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) unification minister-nominee

(LEAD) Unification minister nominee calls for 'selective' review of inter-Korean agreements

(ATTN: UPDATES with details in paras 3,8,9)

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) -- Kim Yung-ho, the nominee for South Korea's unification minister, said Friday the government needs to "selectively" review whether to honor existing inter-Korean agreements, depending on North Korea's behavior.

Kim, a professor known for his hard-line stance toward the North, said the government may need to reconsider the inter-Korean military accord signed on Sept. 19, 2018, if the North continues to violate it with high-intensity provocations.

"Policy continuity is important. But amid changes in the situation (on the Korean Peninsula), there is a need to selectively consider inter-Korean agreements," Kim told reporters.

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday named Kim, a professor at Sungshin Women's University, to lead Seoul's unification ministry. His appointment is subject to parliamentary confirmation hearings.

Kim, a conservative scholar, has raised the need to press Pyongyang to change its course by raising the issue of human rights violations in the secretive regime.

He stressed North Korea's human rights issue should be prioritized in terms of the government's inter-Korean policy.

"As the Yoon administration pushes for the vision of 'a global pivotal state,' we need to deal with the human rights issue from the perspective of universal value," he said.

Critics said his appointment could weaken the role of the unification ministry, which puts priority on seeking exchanges and reconciliation with the North.

"There should be a change in the role of the unification ministry. It needs to pursue policy in a principled and values-based way," he said.

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