South Korea inaugurates team of North Korean defector ‘reporters’

May 7 (UPI) — South Korea’s unification ministry held a virtual ceremony for government-commissioned “reporters,” including defectors recruited to serve as spokespeople for the South Korean government.

Seoul’s Unification Minister Lee In-young said Friday at the event, the first of its kind for the ministry’s teams of “kid reporters,” college students and defectors, that his goal is to eventually have the mass communication specialists travel to the North for reporting projects, News 1 reported.

“At a point in time not far away from now, the peace on the Korean Peninsula will become stronger,” Lee said.

“The unification ministry will work harder and try harder so that one day our reporters can go directly to the North Korean field and meet face-to-face with North Korean children and youth,” the minister said.

Lee also said he looked forward to “each reporter serving as a spokesperson for peace and reunification.” People in the South are distancing themselves from the issue of Korean unification, Lee said.

Among the participants were seven North Korean defectors, who were recruited as members of the ministry’s first reporting team of North Koreans in the South.

The ministry posted the recruitment notice in March. According to the posting, North Korean defectors attending college and those affiliated with Hanawon, a Seoul-run reeducation center for defectors, were eligible to apply.

Jung Yuna, a defector with a popular YouTube channel, also took part in the ceremony, according to Newsis.

The amateur journalists are to be reporters on social media platforms on behalf of the unification ministry.

The communication specialists are to cover major events of the unification ministry, take part in summer camp and workshops on peace and unification, and participate in online community activities, News 1 reported.