According to Yonhap:
The United States has virtually stopped funding anti-North Korean civic groups in South Korea due to its financial downturn, sources here said Wednesday.
Organizations such as the North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity (NKIS) and the North Korea Reform Radio said in a seminar in Seoul that Washington’s financial assistance for groups that support liberty and human rights has all but dried up this year.
“At its peak, the U.S. provided US$5 million in support annually, but the general lack of similar support from the Seoul government may have played a role in the latest cutbacks,” said NKIS executive director Kim Heung-kwang.
He also speculated that current economic troubles in the U.S. and the implementation of across-the-board budget cuts are affecting overseas financial support.
Kim Seung-chul, head of the radio station, said that his organization had relied on assistance from the National Endowment for Democracy, which is controlled by the U.S. State Department.
“With the drying up of subsidies from other U.S. sources, there is a pressing need for the Seoul government to take action,” he said.
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U.S. cuts off subsidies to anti-N. Korea groups in S. Korea
Yonhap
2013-4-17
