S. Korea, Germany to hold annual meeting on reunification

South Korea and Germany will hold a vice ministerial meeting next week intended to share the European nation's experience on reunification, an official said Friday.

The annual session, the fourth of its kind, will take place in Berlin from Wednesday through Friday, according to Lim Byeong-cheol, spokesman for Seoul's unification ministry.

The two countries launched a joint government-civilian consultative committee in 2010 with the aim of sharing Germany's experience and knowledge acquired in the process of reunification.

Vice Unification Minister Kim Nam-shik will lead a nine-member South Korean delegation to this year's meeting. His counterpart is Iris Gleicke, the parliamentary state secretary in the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. Her ministry is in charge of developing the former East German region.

Participants plan to have in-depth discussions on lessons from Germany's establishment of a democratic administrative system in the former East German area, efforts to develop its economy and funding of a unification-related budget, said Lim.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, he pointed out. (Yonhap)