Seongnam City to Independently Promote Inter-Korean Cooperation Projects

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Seongnam City in Gyeonggi Province will independently promote inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects.

Seongnam City announced on the 24th that it was recently designated as a North Korea aid project operator by the Ministry of Unification. Other local governments designated as North Korea aid project operators include Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, Incheon, Chungcheongnam-do, Gangwon-do, Gyeongsangnam-do, Gwangju Metropolitan City, Goyang City, Paju City, and Gimpo City.

Until now, local governments conducted inter-Korean exchange and cooperation projects in the form of sponsorships through private organizations. However, since the Ministry of Unification revised related regulations in October last year, local governments can now carry out these projects directly.

Seongnam City plans to engage with the North to implement projects such as medical supplies support for North Korean children, development of functional supplements for children jointly participated by both Koreas, Northeast Asia international academic conferences, and health and medical support projects for North Korea.

In particular, it will support the establishment of high-tech industrial complexes within North Korea, similar to the Pangyo Techno Valley.

The city has decided to accumulate 5 billion won in the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation fund by next year to support these efforts.

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