unification ministry-budget

Unification ministry seeks 10.3 pct rise in 2020 budget on inter-Korean cooperation

By Koh Byung-joon

SEOUL, Aug. 29 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Thursday that it is pushing for about a 10 percent increase in its budget for inter-Korean cooperation for next year to foster cross-border exchanges despite recently stalled progress in their ties.

The ministry handling North Korea affairs asked for 1.22 trillion won (US$1 billion) for next year's budget for an inter-Korean cooperation fund, up 10.3 percent from the 1.1 trillion won set aside for this year.

The fund is designed to help foster diverse joint projects with North Korea, including a plan to jointly participate in the 2020 Summer Olympics, humanitarian assistance and efforts to prepare for active cross-border economic cooperation.

The proposed increase comes as inter-Korean exchanges have stalled amid a lack of progress in denuclearization talks between North Korea and the United States.

North Korea has not responded to Seoul's offers for cooperative projects, let alone talks, since the no-deal summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in February. Pyongyang is also rejecting Seoul's offer to provide 50,000 tons of rice through a global assistance agency.

South Korea has been pushing to build a peace economy through economic cooperation and co-prosperity with the North.

South and North Korea held three inter-Korean summits last year and agreed to bolster exchanges and cooperation in various areas.

The two Koreas held a groundbreaking ceremony last December for a joint project to modernize and connect their railways and roads over their border, which Seoul sees as building infrastructure needed for their future active economic cooperation.

Further progress, however, has not been made in the area due to a stalemate in nuclear talks and sanctions imposed on the North hampering active economic cooperation.

The ministry said that it asked for 489 billion won to build infrastructure for cross-border economic cooperation, including the railway and road connection project. That represented a 14 percent rise from this year's spending plan.

The ministry also said that it sought a 10.9 percent increase in its budget for humanitarian assistance for the North, which reflected the doubling of its maximum possible rice provision to 200,000 tons.

A ministry official told reporters that the rise in its 2020 budget demonstrates the government's strong will to continue its drive to improve ties with the North and lay the groundwork for building a peace economy on the peninsula.