After the 4th nuclear experiment and launch of missiles by North Korea, unification conferences were held in Tokyo on April 26 and in Osaka on April 27 to enhance understanding and collect the opinions of Korean residents in Japan regarding the issue of change in the relations between North and South and the state of affairs around the peninsula.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol visited and gave a presentation on “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and the era of unification! With the support of Korean residents in Japan.” About 200 Council members and 200 resident representatives attended the conference, drawing considerable interest.

The unification conference by the Eastern Japan Municipal Chapter, which was held at 4:00 p.m. on April 26 at the Korea central hall, kicked off with an opening speech by Nam Jo-nam, head of the Eastern Japan Municipal Chapter, followed by congratulatory remarks from Korea’s ambassador to Japan Yoo Heung-soo (reading on behalf of Consul General Kim Yong-kil) and congratulatory remarks from Japan Municipal Chapter Vice-chairperson Oh Gong-tae.

The Japan Kinki Council Unification Conference was held the following day on April 27 at 3:30 p.m. at the auditorium of the Osaka Federation Headquarters. It kicked off with an opening speech from the Head of the Japan Kinki Council, followed by congratulatory remarks from Ha Tae-yoon, consul general of Osaka, and congratulatory remarks from Jung Hyun-gwon, head of the Osaka Headquarters of the Korean Residents Union.

In this conference, Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol expressed his appreciation to Korean residents in Japan for their active actions such as working hard to recover from the damage wrought by the recent earthquake in Kumamoto, which served as a bridge that brought South Korea and Japan closer, including the support they have shown to their homeland for over 70 years as big brothers of Korean residents in foreign countries in a situation wherein a conflicting entity such as the pro-Pyeongyang Federation of Korean Residents in Japan exists.

He also noted that, during the Korean War, 642 student militias residing in Japan took part in the war to guard the freedom of their nation. He then pledged to do his best so that the day when the society of Korean residents in foreign countries shares the pleasure of reunification will come.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol explained that, in response to North Korea's provocation through the 4th nuclear experiment and missile launching, our government shut down Gaeseong Industrial Complex and took multilateral measures so that the international society would step forward in imposing sanctions against North Korea. "This is the beginning of measures to find fundamental solutions to change North Korea based on the judgment that the preexisting methodologies cannot break North Korea's resolve to develop nuclear technology," he explained.

He added that the shutdown of Gaeseong Industrial Complex in particular had a purpose, which is to block the inflow of foreign currency to North Korea. “The fact that we took the leading role served as the key factor in drawing out the United Nations Security Council's strong sanctions against North Korea," he said.

In other words, the adoption of resolution on such strong sanctions against North Korea — unparalleled in the history of UN — was attributable to the formation of common ground that North Korea's nuclear provocation is a dire threat to international peace, and our government's determination and diplomatic efforts were effective.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol recalled President Park Geun-hye’s declaration of the need to abandon the easygoing mindset and attitude of solely depending on international society on the issue of North Korea's nuclear development, play a leading role in inducing strong cooperation from the international society, and mobilize all means to solve the problem by ourselves. “North Korea, through nuclear experiments and launching of missiles, was planning to steer the relations of North and South to the direction they wanted, but our government's determination is not allowing that to happen," he said.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol added that North Korea is now facing a situation wherein they need to choose between abandoning nuclear development and collapsing. “The North Korean regime should realize that delaying does not guarantee achieving their desired outcome. Based on previous experiences, changing the behavior of the North requires a practical measure. Effective measures taken by our government and the international society should be stably continued," he stressed.

Through detailed explanation on issues regarding the human rights of North Koreans such as economic issues of North Korea, North Korean restaurant issue, and North Korean Human Rights Act, Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol helped attendees have a deeper understanding of the issues.

“North Korea's currency value as presented by the government and the value traded in the black market show up to 100 times’ difference, making North Korea citizens lose trust in the North Korean regime. It is nothing more than a cinematic system showing off that their distinctive Socialism is heaven on earth," he added.

According to him, the movie “Under the Sun” produced by Russian movie director Vitali Mansky shows that the North Korean regime is a false system that coercively rules by means of infringement of human rights and brainwashing. "North Korea's political system was established by the Soviet Union in the 1950s; in some aspects, it is carrying out propaganda and instigation to an extent that the Soviet Union has not even thought of," he noted.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol believes that "NUAC has a well-organized group both in Korea and abroad as well as human resources with excellent capabilities. The more reunification seems unreachable, the more important the role of NUAC is; thus, NUAC needs to be passionate and to work with willingness as leaders of reunification, clearly expressing opinions on reunification policies and forming public opinions on reunification in local societies,” he stressed.