SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 A pair of dogs gifted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2018 are now mired in a South Korean political row, with the country鈥檚 former president blaming his conservative successor for a lack of financial support as he gave the animals up.
Moon Jae-in, a liberal who left office in May, received the two white 鈥淧ungsan鈥 hunting dogs 鈥 a breed known to be indigenous to North Korea 鈥 from Kim following their peace summit in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang in September 2018.
The dogs are officially considered state property, but Moon took the pair and one of their seven offspring home after he left office. The move was made possible by a change of law in March that allowed presidential gifts to be managed outside of the Presidential Archives if they were animals or plants.
But Moon鈥檚 office on Monday said he decided he could no longer raise the three dogs because the current government of President Yoon Suk Yeol was refusing to cover the costs for the animals鈥 food and veterinary care. The Ministry of the Interior and Safety said that the dogs were returned to the government on Tuesday and that the parent dogs originally sent from Kim were being examined at a veterinary hospital in the city of Daegu.
In its statement released on Facebook, Moon鈥檚 office accused Yoon鈥檚 office of 鈥渋nexplicably鈥 blocking the ministry鈥檚 proposal to provide government funds for the animal鈥檚 care.
The ministry confirmed it had drafted a budget plan to provide a monthly 2.5 million won ($1,810) in subsidies, including 500,000 won ($360) for the dogs' food and veterinary care and 2 million ($1,450) for hiring workers to look after them. But the ministry said the plans were put on hold for months because of unspecified 鈥渙pposing opinions鈥 from within the ministry and the Ministry of Government Legislation.
鈥淚t seems that the presidential office, unlike the Presidential Archives and the Interior and Safety Ministry, has a negative view about entrusting the care of the Pungsan dogs to former President Moon,鈥 Moon's office said.
If that's the case, Yoon's government should be 鈥渃ool鈥 about ending that entrustment, Moon鈥檚 office said.
鈥淭here would be disappointment and regrets as they were companion animals (Moon) grew attached to, but there would be no way to reject the termination of entrustment," it said.
Yoon鈥檚 office shifted the blame to Moon, saying it never prevented him from keeping the animals and that the discussions about providing financial support were still ongoing.
鈥淚t was entirely the decision of former President Moon Jae-in to return the Pungsan dogs to the Presidential Archives鈥 instead of waiting out a legislative amendment to secure the subsidies, Yoon鈥檚 office said.
Moon and Yoon鈥檚 spat over the dogs sparked criticism online, with users lamenting that the animals were being treated only as properties.
Staking his single presidential term on inter-Korean rapprochement, Moon met Kim three times in 2018 and lobbied hard to help set up Kim鈥檚 meetings with former U.S. President Donald Trump. But the diplomacy never recovered from the collapse of the second Kim-Trump meeting in 2019 in Vietnam, where the Americans rejected North Korea鈥檚 demands for major sanctions relief in exchange for dismantling an aging nuclear facility, which would have amounted to a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.
Kim has since vowed to bolster his nuclear deterrent to counter 鈥済angster-like鈥 U.S. pressure and sped up his weapons development despite limited resources and pandemic-related difficulties. The North has fired dozens of missiles this year, using the distraction created by Russia's war on Ukraine to increase arms development and ramp up pressure on the United States and its regional allies.
