Unification minister discusses N.K. defectors’ forced repatriation in talks with Campbell

South Korea's Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho said Monday he discussed North Korean defectors' forced repatriation, security on the Korean Peninsula and other issues during his talks with a senior U.S. diplomat in Washington. Kim met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell at the State Department as he is in the U.S. capital for talks with U.S. officials, lawmakers and experts to discuss North Korea and other related issues. His trip is set to run through Friday. "I brought up the issue (of defectors' repatriation) and discussed the importance of cooperation between U.S. and South Korean governments on that matter," Kim told reporters after his meeting with Campbell. Two North Korean defectors joined the meeting to explain the domestic situation in North Korea, Kim said. Seoul and Washington have been coordinating to ensure North Korean defectors, particularly those in China, will not be sent back to the North against their will. They have been calling for China and other countries to abide by the international principle of non-refoulement. In the meeting with Campbell, Kim also called for Washington's cooperation with Seoul's ongoing efforts to craft a new discourse for national reunification that focuses on freedom and other values. "I told the U.S. side that we are preparing to announce a new discourse on unification," he said. "Though we have not yet made decisions in terms of when and what to announce and in what format, we asked for the U.S. side's interest and cooperation." Pointing to President Yoon Suk Yeol's speech marking the 1919 independence movement against Japanese colonial rule, Kim stressed that "unification should materialize in a way that ensures all individuals in the two Koreas can enjoy freedom and affluence." Kim's visit to Washington comes at a time of heightened uncertainty in U.S. politics after President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday while former President Donald Trump is cranking up his reelection campaign. Source: Yonhap News Agency