Summary of inter-Korean news this week

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.

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S. Korea approves 680 mln won for digital archiving of inter-Korean excavation project

SEOUL, March 30 (Yonhap) -- The government on Monday approved the spending of 688 million won (US$565,000) on creating a digital archive of relics found from a historical site in North Korea through an inter-Korean excavation project, the unification ministry said.

The Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council approved the expenditure plan necessary to build the archive, including fees for data processing, creating content and consulting, according to the ministry.

Manwoldae was the site of the Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) palace for about 400 years, currently located in the North's border city of Kaesong.

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S. Korea ready to help N. Korea, U.S. resume denuclearization talks: official

SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is ready to help North Korea and the United States resume their long-halted denuclearization talks, a unification ministry official said Tuesday, a day after the North strongly criticized Washington and threatened to quit negotiations.

In a statement issued Monday by the North Korean foreign ministry's "new department director general for negotiations with the U.S.," Pyongyang lashed out at Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for encouraging other nations to stay committed to sanctions on the North.

The North also said it lost interest in dialogue and will "go our own way."

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S. Korea OKs aid group's plan to provide hand sanitizers to N. Korea amid coronavirus fears

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has approved a local nonprofit organization's plan to provide hand sanitizers to North Korea to support Pyongyang's anti-coronavirus efforts, a unification ministry official has said, in the first such move this year amid chilly inter-Korean relations.

The approval was granted Tuesday, allowing the organization to supply hand sanitizers worth around 100 million won (US$81,000), the official told reporters on condition of anonymity.

He said the money has been funded by the organization but declined to share details on the identity of the organization and when and how the sanitizers would be transferred to the North.

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S. Korea vows to donate US$5.73 mln for N. Korea assistance projects

SEOUL, April 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea has pledged to donate around US$5.73 million this year to international agencies to help with their aid projects for North Korea, the unification ministry said Thursday.

The money includes $4 million Seoul pledged in December for the World Health Organization's project to provide medical support for North Korean women and kids and $1.73 million promised to help the North's typhoon recovery efforts through the Red Cross, the ministry said.

The money represented the largest portion of the $9.43 million that countries in the world have pledged to donate this year for humanitarian assistance projects in the North.
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