South Korea’s Ministry of Unification (MOU) has budgeted over half a million dollars for an overseas conference series on North Korean human rights this year, showing the Yoon administration continues to spend heavily on its goal of drawing attention to DPRK abuses.

But the expenditure for the events in Washington earlier this month and in Geneva later this year also come as some activists have expressed unease about the extent of government spending on such conferences given their limited reach.

The unification ministry has allocated 734 million won ($530,000) to cover expenses for the two-part 2024 International Dialogue on North