Seoul set to increase 2013 islets budget

Korea plans to significantly increase its Dokdo budget for next year to effectively cope with efforts by Japan to claim the islets located in the East Sea, a government official said yesterday.

The official said talks are currently underway with the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the National Assembly to decide how much money will be needed to strengthen the country’s control over Korea’s easternmost territory.

“The total will definitely exceed 3 billion won [$2.65 million], but more talks are needed between the Foreign Ministry and state policy makers in charge of finance, and that could push the total over 4 billion won,” the official said.

The budget will be much higher than the 2.3 billion won, which the Foreign Ministry initially asked for.

The official said most of the increase will go into better advertisement of Korea’s rightful claims to Dokdo and to counter arguments made by Japan.

Yonhap