NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

The Unification Ministry has significantly reduced the budget and personnel needed for maintaining the inter-Korean liaison office, which was blown up by North Korea this June. To operate the office at the minimum level, the ministry appropriated a budget of 310 million won for 2021, a plunge from this year's some 6.4 billion won. The number of South Korean officials stationed at the liaison office dropped from 29 to 15.
The government will resume tours to the truce village of Panmunjeom early next month, which have been halted due to African swine fever and the COVID-19 pandemic. The tours will resume officially on November 6, following a trial operation on November 4. The government and the UN Command halted the tours last October as part of efforts to contain the spread of African swine fever. A Unification Ministry official said the tours will be gradually expanded after being operated in a smaller scale at first in compliance with quarantine guidelines.
Statistics Korea will establish a consolidated database called a statistical register. A statistical register refers to a collection of various data separately kept at different government agencies. The statistics agency said that with the new system, it will compile statistics that properly reflects the quickly-changing society and provide the government with more accurate information for policy making.