[Asian Games] Korea to financially support N. Korean Asiad delegation

The South Korean government is in internal discussions on the amount of financial support for North Korean athletes participating in the Incheon Asian Games, an official here said Thursday.

The North has sent a 273-member delegation to the games to open in the South's western port city on Friday.

Earlier this week, the organizing committee for the event formally asked the government to use taxpayers' money to financially support the North's participation, the unification ministry official told reporters on the background.

South Korea has 1.1 trillion won ($1 billion) in its South-North Cooperation Fund earmarked for inter-Korean economic, social, cultural and sports exchanges.

North Korean athletes (Yonhap)

"We have plans to provide financial support for the North's delegation. But no decision has been made on the amount," the official said. "We have yet to decide on whether to provide full or partial (financial) support, as we are in consultations with the finance ministry and other related authorities."

In 2002, the then-liberal administration in South Korea offered full financial support for the North's delegation to the Busan Asian Games. (Yonhap)