A South Korean governor expressed high hope for unification on the Korean peninsula during a visit to L.A over the weekend.

“I cannot say when and how,” said Kim Moon Soo, the governor of South Korea's Gyeonggi province. “But a peaceful unification will be sooner the better.”

Governor Kim was in L.A last week to promote economic and political ties between the U.S. and South Korea. He is also a potential presidential candidate for next year’s election in South Korea.

On Sunday, he met with five members from USC’s Liberty in North Korea chapter at the Oxford Hotel in Koreatown to discuss North Korean defectors and what USC's LiNK has done to support them. LiNK is a nonprofit organization that raises awareness of the North Korean human rights issues. The group launched last year the Hundreds Campaign to rescue 100 more North Korea refugees in hiding. About $2,500 is needed to save one refugee. 

Kim’s province hosts the greatest number of North Korean refugees, according to the South Korea’s Ministry of Unification. With a big boost from a benefit concert last fall, USC's LiNK has raised about $5,000 in a year to save one refugee with one more in the process.

Kim emphasized during the discussion that the U.S. must play a central role in uniting Korea. Since the Mutual Security Agreement of 1954, in which South Korea and the U.S agreed to defend each other in the events of outside aggression, the USFK (United States Forces of Korea) has been key source of peace on the Korean peninsula, according to Kim.

“The U.S. is right now one of the most powerful nations,” the governor said. “The presence of the USFK in South Korea helps to deter North Korea’s military ambitions.”

With China also providing aid to North Korea to help it sustain its repressive communist regime, Kim said there is more reason than ever for the U.S. to be involved with the unification process.

“China is becoming increasingly powerful,” said Kim. “The U.S’ role to check and balance China’s support for North Korea is important.”

The governor also called for a free trade agreement between the U.S. and South Korea to be ratified as soon as possible because “the agreement will not only benefit both nations economically but will also strengthen political and military alliance.”

Korea is the seventh‐largest trade partner of the U.S. If the trade agreement is finalized, 95 percent of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products would become duty free within three years of enactment, and most remaining tariffs would be eliminated within 10 years, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative's website.

That’s why Kim sees this alliance as being so crucial.

“It serves as the cornerstone in sustaining peace and order in Northeast Asia, where China’s influence is growing fast,” he said.

Apart from politics, the governor suggested ways American students can help North Korean defectors. The governor mentioned a volunteer program for students who want to give English lessons to North Korean defectors.

“Learning quality English is expensive, but is a very important survival tool for them to succeed in today’s world,” Kim said. “I will provide free boarding and food at the Gyeonggi English Village if any USC students are willing to come and volunteer as English teachers to the North Korean defectors living in Gyeonggi province.”

Reach Alisa, a member of LiNK, here.