Who Will Get Funded Better By South Korea, Kim Jong-un or USFK?

The Moon administration in South Korea has decided to increase funding for North Korea spending next year: 

The government has allocated 1.1 trillion won ($977 million) for inter-Korean affairs for next year, according to the unification ministry, Monday.

This is up 15 percent from the 959 billion won fund this year, reflecting the reconciliatory mood that developed between the Koreas, as the leaders held three summits and reached agreements to promote peace.

“The budget was drawn up to give an impetus to carrying out agreements reached between the South and North and develop sustainable inter-Korean ties,” a unification ministry official said.

The budget includes 5.9 billion won that was set up to enable video meetings between family members separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

Korea Times

You can read more at the link, but what is interesting about this announcement of $977 million set aside for Kim Jong-un is that the cost sharing talks between the US and the ROK restart again this week.  The US has been asking South Korea to increase their funding for USFK from the $850 million a year it currently pays.  South Korean negotiators say that crossing the one trillion won mark is “psychologically important” to not cross.  However it was clearly not important when they decided to budget over one trillion won for North Korea spending next year. 

So as it stands now the ROK government is willing to pay Kim Jong-un more than USFK.  

This shouldn’t come as any surprise because the former Roh Moo-hyun administration that current President Moon Jae-in was the Chief of Staff for also paid then North Korean leader Kim Jong-il more money than they were willing to fund the US-ROK alliance.  I would hope US negotiators at the cost sharing talks this week would at least bring this fact up.