The South Korean government was embroiled in controversy for treating the North Korean delegation “excessively” well here during its two-day visit to the South aimed at inspecting venues and facilities where the two Koreas plan to hold joint cultural events.

Led by Hyon Song-wol, the head of the Samjiyon Orchestra, the advance team from Pyongyang inspected possible venues in Gangneung and Seoul on Sunday and Monday, respectively, where the North Korean art troupe is set to perform during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics next month. The delegation returned to the North on Monday.
 
The level of protection and courtesy extended to North Korea’s seven-member delegation has irked many in the South, with critics saying that measures amounted to “excessive” hospitality to please the North.

The delegation was provided with heavy police protection. An official from the National Intelligence Service reportedly stopped local reporters from asking Hyon questions as she stepped onto a KTX train bound for Gangneung on Sunday, saying that Hyon was “feeling uncomfortable.”

“The North’s delegation asked the government to help it focus on inspecting venues and told us that they will not make comments or have interviews (with the media,)” a high-level Ministry of Unification official said on condition of anonymity.

In Gangneung, the delegation reportedly spent a night in a suite room on the 19th floor of Golden Tulip Sky Bay Gyeongpo Hotel in Gangneung. The suite room usually costs 500,000 won ($470) for regular hotel guests, according to the hotel.

Upon checking into the five-star hotel on Sunday, the delegation enjoyed a Western-style dinner at the hotel’s restaurant. The dinner course costs 130,000 won per person. For Monday’s breakfast, Hyon and her team reportedly had dried pollack soup, which costs 30,000 won.

On Monday, Hyon’s team traveled from Gangneung to Seoul on a specially chartered KTX train.

According to news reports, they had a Chinese course lunch priced at 138,000 won per person at Lotte Hotel World, and a Korean beef rib dish, which costs 290,000 won per portion, at Grand Walkerhill Hotel for their final meal in the South.

The ministry official said that Hyon had expressed her gratitude for the hospitality and hoped for the two Koreas to join forces for the planned cross-border events.

As for who will foot the bill for the North Korean delegation’s stay, the Unification Ministry said it will use the inter-Korean cooperative fund, a fund established in 1991 under the ministry with the aim to reserve money for cross-border exchanges and projects.

“The expenses (the government paid) will be reimbursed later,” Baik Tae-hyun, spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, said during a regular briefing Monday. “The inter-Korean cooperative fund requires approval from the National Assembly.”

(laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)