The 135th Executive Committee of the National Unification Advisory Council (NUAC) was held at the NUAC Secretariat in the Jung-gu district of Seoul on January 20. The first committee meeting of the year consisted of △ the presentation of an appointment certificate to Kim Gyu-nam, the new assistant administrator of the Executive Committee, followed by △ the opening remarks of Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol; △ a report and a review of the key project implementation plans of the NUAC for 2016; △ deliberation and voting on the composition of the subcommittee of the Executive Committee; △ and the gathering of opinions regarding the committee’s operations.

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo Ho-yeol stated in his opening remarks: "Because North Korea's fourth nuclear test is an extremely serious issue, we should give them a lesson by imposing vigorous sanctions, making it clear that there is nothing to achieve through such provocations as nuclear tests and missile development." He went on to emphasize that "We should engage in our activities for peaceful unification with the conviction that North Korea's nuclear development should never exist, as peaceful unification is impossible in a situation where North Korea develops, possesses and threatens us with nuclear weapons."

Executive Vice-chairperson Yoo continued by saying, "The NUAC announced its NUAC resolution on January 13 and demonstrated its commitment to deterring North Korea's development of nuclear weapons through a national relay of one-man protests."

Finally, he urged that, "As the core part of NUAC operations, I urge the members of the Executive Committee here to do their best in assisting the NUAC in successfully carrying out its role as the key player in the preparations for unification."

In his activity report Planning & Coordination Officer Kim Jeom-joon pointed out, "This year, the main objective of the NUAC’s activities is “to lead the promotion of the preparations for unification among the public.” We will implement our plans and projects with directions of; sympathy from the public: establishing an environment to prepare for the unification, companionship with the public: two-way communication and strengthening embodiment of public opinion, bringing the public together: full-blown implementation of preparation for the unification. For specific projects to be promoted, he proposed △ developing the agenda for practical preparations for unification and their publication; △ materializing, localizing and globalizing the preparations for unification; △ strengthening the consensus for grassroots-based unification; △ promoting public-integrated communication and sharing; △ organizing a 'small-scale unification movement' that can be recognized by the public; maximizing the council members' capabilities regarding preparations for unification; △ and nurturing a "uni-making" future generation. Planning & Coordination Officer Kim Jeom-joon ended his proposals by introducing specific plans for their implementation.

After listening to the planning & coordination officer, the members of the Executive Committee voiced the need for a secretariat-level effort to vitalize the support for North Korean adolescent refugees and to strengthen the unification competency of the nation’s youth.