Unification minister to visit Britain, Germany

Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho will embark on a weeklong trip to Britain and Germany this week for discussions on North Korea's denuclearization, its human rights conditions and unification, the ministry said Tuesday.

The seven-day trip will first bring Kim to Britain, where he will deliver a keynote speech at the Korea Global Forum, and discuss ways to cooperate with European countries on North Korea's denuclearization and human rights conditions.

In Germany, Kim will visit Hamburg to attend a ceremony marking the reunification of Germany in 1990 and meet government officials to gain support for Seoul's policy goal of building a reunified Korean Peninsula that is free and at peace.

In both countries, Kim will meet with North Korean defectors who have settled abroad.

Britain is home to one of the biggest communities in the West for defectors coming from the North, with 659 of 1,971 North Korean refugees living overseas based there, according to the data by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Kim will also promote South Korea's bid to host the 2030 World Expo in the southeastern port city of Busan during his trip, the ministry said. (Yonhap)