More Money Set Aside for Aid to Pyongyang
By Kim Sue-young
Staff Reporter
The Ministry of Unification said Thursday that it plans to spend 190 million won (approximately $138,000) next year, up 90 percent from this year, to help improve the North Korean human rights situation.
A high-ranking ministry official, asking to remain anonymous, told reporters that the ministry decided to use more money for North Korean humanitarian issues, despite a cut in the ministry's total budget proposal for next year.
Under the Lee Myung-bak administration's tight monetary policy, the ministry's budget decreased by 8.8 percent, from 125.4 billion won to 114.4 billion won.
He said that it will also use 410 million won to assist Hanawon, a shelter for North Korean defectors, which is scheduled to be expanded to accommodate more defectors.
This year, 270 million won was spent on the shelter.
The ministry will send 400,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer as an interest-free loan to the North, costing 352 billion won and 291.7 billion won, respectively, the official said.