This is an example of how the ROK government during the Sunshine Policy years helped to fund North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs and the leftists running the country at the time thought the North Koreans would actually pay them back. Despite all this the current Moon Jae-in administration in South Korea wants to give them even more money they will likely never pay back:
North Korea seems unwilling to repay loans it received from South Korea when inter-Korean relations were good in the 2000s, an opposition lawmaker claimed Thursday.
Citing data from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank) and the National Assembly Budget Office, Rep. Shim Jae-cheol of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LKP) said the North’s outstanding liabilities are 161.4 billion won ($142.5 million) as of July, out of accumulated loans of 1.05 trillion won ($932 million).
“North Korea has not paid back a penny since 2012 but the government has yet to come up with any countermeasure,” Shim said.
“The amount of redemption must have been used in nuclear and missile development. The government should do its utmost not to lose the entire 1.05 trillion won, which is the people’s tax money.”
According to the National Assembly data, the Kim Dae-jung government offered loans worth 369 billion won ($327 million) and the Roh Moo-hyun administration provided as much as 683.7 billion won ($650 million) in the form of food, material and equipment. [Korea Times]
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