Tae Young-ho: "Give 1.1 trillion to North Korea... Must urge Kim Jong-un to repay debt"

Tae Young-ho, a member of the United Future Party, is speaking at the full meeting of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] Tae Young-ho, a member of the Future United Party, claimed on the 21st that the loans provided by our government to North Korea since 2000 exceed 1.1 trillion won, and that repayment should be officially demanded from North Korea.

Rep. Tae stated, "The government has been pouring taxpayers' money for the Kim family in North Korea, but North Korea has no intention of repaying at all," and added, "We should stop giving to North Korea and officially urge Kim Jong-un to repay the debt."

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Unification to Rep. Tae on that day, the loans provided by our government to North Korea from 2000 to the present amount to 1.1198 trillion won.

From 2000 to 2007, 864.7 billion won was provided as food loans; from 2002 to 2008, 159.3 billion won was provided as loans related to railway and road connection materials; and 95.8 billion won was provided as loans for purchasing light industry raw materials, among others.

North Korea has not repaid the loans except for an in-kind repayment of zinc ingots worth 2.8 billion won (1,005 tons) in 2008. Since the first repayment deadline in June 2012, the government has sent quarterly repayment demand notices, but North Korea has not responded.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.