Global Geopolitical Series: South Korea to pay $2.6 million over North’s participation in the Olympic

The ongoing winter Olympics, which is held near Seoul in South Korea is widely being called as the Peace Olympic as North Korean and South Korean athletes marched together under Korea unification flag. The event was attended by Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un and she was seen sharing moments not only with South Korean president Moon Jae-in but also with the U.S. Vice President Mike Pence.

While all these seem so encouraging for the peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula, it is going to cost money. According to reports, South Korea has agreed to allocate up to $2.6 million to cover the expenses of North Korean delegations attending the Winter Olympics. The fund is said to cover the cost of hundreds of North Korean delegates participating in the 2018 Winter Games in PyeongChang, including arts performers, cheerleaders, and a taekwondo demonstration team.

Korean Unification Ministry said in a statement that 2.86 billion Won has been allocated, though the actual cost could be less. Here is the full statement from the ministry, http://www.unikorea.go.kr/unikorea/news/release/?boardId=bbs_0000000000000004&mode=view&cntId=54385

However, this is not the first time that South Korea is paying for North’s attendance. In 2014, during Asian Games Competition in South Korea’s city of Incheon, it paid some 410 million won ($381,000). In 2002, for the Asian Games in the port city of Busan, it approved a 2.12-billion fund ($1.9 million), of which it paid 1.35 billion won ($1.25 million) for the cost of a 650-member North Korean delegation.