By Kim Bo-eun
The government decided on Thursday to use a fund for inter-Korean affairs to cover the expenses of running a joint liaison office in North Korea.
A council for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation approved the motion for the inter-Korean affairs funds to cover 3.47 billion won ($3.07 million) in operational costs for the inter-Korean contact office for 2018. The office is set to open within this month.
Opening the joint liaison office in the North's city of Gaeseong is among the agreements reached at the April summit between President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The office, the first inter-Korean organization where representatives of the South and North will work together in the same building, is meant to enhance communication.
Construction of the office began in early July and is ongoing.
In Moon's speech on Wednesday marking Liberation Day, he referred to the office as opening “after a few days.”
However, a unification ministry official on Thursday told reporters the office won't be opening this week.
South Korea has been providing limited amounts of electricity for the office ahead of its opening, based on an agreement with the U.S. This rose as an issue because the office is located with the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which has been shut down since February 2016 due to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile provocations, and is banned by sanctions from receiving power or equipment from the South.
The unification ministry has stated that providing limited amounts of electricity for the office in the complex has nothing to do with reopening it. The government said it continues to discuss with the U.S. about expenses associated with opening and operating the office so it does not violate sanctions placed on the North.
The office was initially scheduled to open on Aug. 17, but this was delayed due to differences between South Korea and the U.S. on using electricity from the South in operating the office after construction is completed.
“We will manage the joint contact office so that it contributes to inter-Korean communication and cooperation and management of circumstances of inter-Korean relations,” the ministry official said.
Earlier, the council for inter-Korean exchanges also approved a motion for the inter-Korean affairs fund to cover 86 million won in expenses for repairing the existing building for the contact office. The inter-Korean affairs fund comes from the South Korean government's budget and private sector contributions.