Moon said to ask for discussions on return of 3 N.K. dogs to state

All News 15:09 November 07, 2022

SEOUL, Nov. 7 (Yonhap) -- Former President Moon Jae-in has asked the government to discuss the return to the state of a pair of dogs and their puppy he has been keeping after North Korean leader Kim Jong-un gave the pair as a gift in 2018, interior ministry officials said Monday.

The North's leader sent the pair of Pungsan-breed dogs, one male named Songkang and a female named Gomi, to Moon after their third summit in Pyongyang in September 2018.

Moon then took the two dogs and one puppy to his private residence in Yangsan, 420 kilometers southeast of Seoul, following his retirement in May this year.

According to the officials, Moon's side has recently asked the Presidential Archives, affiliated with the interior ministry, to begin discussions on where and how to raise the three dogs.

The request was reportedly made as the cost of raising the three dogs has reached about 2.5 million won (US$1,783) a month.

A ranking interior ministry official, who was asked by Yonhap News Agency if Moon has delivered an intent to hand over the custody of the three dogs to the state, declined to disclose specific details due to the ongoing negotiations.

Under the Presidential Records Act, the North Korean dogs, classified as presidential records, are barred from staying with Moon after his retirement and were supposed to be returned to the Presidential Archives in principle.

But the archives signed an agreement with Moon to entrust the three dogs to him on May 9, the last day of his five-year tenure, due to its absence of facilities to breed animals and from the viewpoint of animal welfare.

The agreement reportedly stipulates that supplies and expenses necessary for breeding and managing the dogs can be paid within the budget.

The Pungsan breed of dogs originates from a mountainous region of the North. They are known to be agile, clever and ferocious to beasts, but friendly and loyal to their human masters.