The South Korean finance ministry will allocate around USD$99.7 million more than originally requested by the Ministry of Unification (MOU) for humanitarian aid to North Korea, a budget proposal for 2018 seen by NK News on Wednesday suggested.

The unification ministry said on Wednesday that the increase in the budget for projects by the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund (IKCF) was part of preparations for a future turnaround in inter-Korean relations.

“My understanding is that budget for the new economy map of the Korean peninsula has been increased among the projects of the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund,” Baik Tae-hyun, an MOU spokesperson, told media