ROK earmarks $970m for cooperation fund with DPRK

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK) earmarked 1.1 trillion won ($970 million) for the cooperation fund with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for next year, Seoul's unification ministry said Monday.

Budget allocated for the inter-Korean cooperation fund, which was launched in 1991 to boost inter-Korean exchange and economic cooperation, amounted to 1.1 trillion won in 2019, up 15 percent from 962.4 billion won ($850 million) for this year.

The double-digit increase came amid the rising peace mood on the Korean Peninsula, caused by the three summit meetings between ROK's President Moon Jae-in and top DPRK leader Kim Jong-un in 2018 alone.

Set aside for humanitarian issues was 572.4 billion won ($510 million), while 504.4 billion won ($450 million) was earmarked for economic cooperation between the two Koreas. For the social and cultural exchanges, 20.5 billion won ($18.2 million) was allotted.

Budget to modernize and eventually connect railways across the inter-Korean border jumped to 428.9 billion won ($380 million) next year from 268 billion won ($240 million) this year.

The two sides launched an 18-day joint inspection on the DPRK's rail lines in late November for the railway connection project.

For the inter-Korean forestry cooperation, including the modernization of tree nurseries and the joint prevention of forest diseases and pests, 113.7 billion won ($100 million) of budget was allotted for next year, up from 30 billion won ($27 million) for this year.