Cheong Wa Dae registers Pungsan dogs as national property

Cheong Wa Dae registers Pungsan dogs as national property. November. 27, 2018 07:31. weappon@donga.com.
Gomi, the Pungsan hunting dog that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gave to South Korean President Moon Jae-in as peace gift, has recently given birth to six puppies, and it is reported that the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae has registered the Pungsan dogs as national property.

“The two Pungsan dogs and their babies are a gift sent from the North Korean leader to celebrate the inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang, so they do not personally belong to President Moon but to South Korea,” said an official from Cheong Wa Dae. “The feed and other costs for the dogs are all expensed from our national budget, unlike the president’s own pets whose care expenses are handled personally by himself.”

After the summit in September, Kim Jong Un sent a Pungsan dog couple each named Gomi and Song Gang to President Moon. The mother Gomi, who was already pregnant from Pyongyang, gave birth to six babies on November 9, with the number of Pungsan dogs from the North jumping from two to eight. Afterwards, some of the presidential secretaries asked if it would be possible for them to take in the puppies. But the presidential office holds the stance that the puppies cannot be allocated to private owners as they are national properties.