Christian leaders call on gov't to increase budget for N.K.

SEOUL, Feb. 27 (Yonhap) -- A coalition of some 900 leaders from the Christian church in South Korea called on Friday for the government to raise its annual budget set aside for humanitarian aid and other businesses with North Korea amid strained cross-border ties.

"The government should allocate 1 percent of its total annual budget to be spent
for humanitarian aid and development assistance for North Korea, which should be
enacted into law by the National Assembly," said a statement signed by Christian
leaders from the Christian Council of Korea (CCK), the National Council of
Churches in Korea (NCCK) and other prominent organizations.
South Korea's total government budget for 2009 is set at 284.5 trillion won
(US$208 billion), with North Korea-related expenditures earmarked at around 1
trillion won, according to government officials in Seoul.
The group also called on President Lee Myung-bak to honor summit agreements
signed between leaders of both sides during the previous liberal South Korean
governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun in 2000 and 2007, respectively.
"The government should be reminded to honor the former agreements... which are
basic principles to abide by and further develop," the statement said.
Pyongyang has threatened to effectively cut off all military and political ties
with South Korea. Unlike his predecessors, who provided generous rice, fertilizer
and energy aid to the North regardless of its nuclear and missile programs, Lee
has adopted a harder line.
The incumbent conservative government has said that it supports the "spirit" of
the summit accords but that it will be difficult to fully implement them.
Fulfilling the accords would cost Seoul more than 14 trillion won, by some
estimates.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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