(LEAD) S. Korean ministry to step up N. Korea monitoring, defector support

(ATTN: CHANGES slug; UPDATES with comments, background briefing; RECASTS lead,
headline; ADDS details)
By Sam Kim

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean ministry overseeing ties with North
Korea plans to step up its monitoring of the communist neighbor and expand
programs designed to support defectors from it, an official said Tuesday.
The Unification Ministry has been granted 154.2 billion won (US$134.4 million)
for spending this year, a 27 percent rise compared to 121.5 billion won last
year, according to its budget layout.
More than half of the increment will be spent on 14 new projects at the ministry,
including one to develop an index that summarizes political, economic and social
changes in North Korea, the senior official told reporters, speaking on condition
of anonymity.
"The index will help us better compile information we have collected on North
Korea and provide us with a more precise insight into the country," the ministry
official said.
In the first phase of its efforts to establish a wide ranging database on the
communist neighbor, the ministry will integrate and digitalize information on
North Korean figures this year, he said.
"Industrial and geographical information will gradually be integrated into the
database beginning from next year," he said.
A total of 17.8 billion won has been earmarked for the monitoring efforts and
other projects, the official said. About 9.2 billion won of it will be used to
establish a second resettlement center and a nationwide network of support
centers for North Korean defectors.
More than 16,000 North Koreans have fled to South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean
War that ended in a truce, with the annual number of defectors increasing year by
year.
"We expect the number to surpass 20,000 this year, and there is a growing need to
expand our capacity to accommodate them and help them adapt to the South Korean
society," he said.
The Unification Ministry accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the South Korean
government expenditure.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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