The South Korean government has as of Wednesday approved 1000 requests by private South Korean organizations to make contact with North Koreans since May 2017, the Ministry of Unification (MOU) announced.

“A total of 1000 approvals of contact with North Korean citizens have been handled until now since the Moon Jae-in government was launched,” MOU spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun told a regular news briefing.

South Korean law requires citizens who intend to make contact with North Koreans to first gain approval from the Minister of Unification, in accordance with the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Act.

193 of these approvals by civic groups