Doggie Troubles: The bizarre row in South Korea over canines gifted by North Korea’s Kim Jong-un

The politics of South Korea has reached a new level and it now involves dogs too.

Former president Moon Jae-in is mulling over the decision of giving up a pair of dogs gifted to him by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during a 2018 summit, saying that the current president of South Korea Yoon Suk-Yeol has shown little support for raising the dogs any further.

Since their arrival, Moon has taken care of a pair of white Pungsan dogs, named Gomi and Songgang. After his term ended in May, Moon took them to his personal residence.

Let’s take a closer look at why the dogs got stuck in the middle of a controversy.

Why were the dogs gifted to Moon?

In 2018, according to a report by Reuters, Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong-un held a private meeting in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang following which the latter indicated his plan of presenting canines to the South Korean president.

The move was seen as a sign of growing cordial relations between the two countries.

South Korea’s presidential office said in a statement, “Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office) was offered a pair of Pungsan dogs from the North as a gift at the North-South summit and received them Thursday.”

The dogs – one male and one female – who were aged one at the time, were brought into the South via the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ) and the truce village of Panmunjom. But the dogs did not come alone, with them authorities of North Korea sent three kilograms of dog food to facilitate the process of adaptation, according to AFP.

The breed, Pungsan, is named after a county in North Korea, is known for its loyalty and hunting skills. It is designated as North Korea’s “natural monument animal.”

It was decided at the time that the two dogs would share their space with South Korea’s first shelter dog who took up residence at the presidential compound named Tori.

In the course of their stay in the presidential house, the dogs produced seven puppies, according to a report by New York Post.

What’s the controversy?

Media reports suggest that the dogs are legally categorised as the property of the state belonging to the presidential archives.

However, on the contrary, Moon’s office said that the dogs’ care was entrusted to him, even after he left his post, following consultations with the archives and the interior ministry and that this was an unprecedented decision.

According to a report by BBC, there was an agreement with the interior ministry that reportedly stated that supplies and expenses to take care of the dogs could be paid for from a state budget. However, this agreement has now fallen short due to “unexplained opposition” from President Yoon Suk-yeol’s office.

A daily newspaper called Chosun Ilbo cited unnamed government officials saying that a debate took place in the parliament over whether or not Moon should be provided with a monthly subsidy of 2.5m won (Rs 1,47,000).

On Facebook, Moon’s office stated, “The presidential office seems to be negative toward entrusting the management of the Pungsan dogs to former President Moon.”

“If that’s the case, we can be cool about it, as such an entrustment is based on the goodwill of both sides … though ending it is regretful given they are companion animals he grew attached to,” the statement added.

Furthermore, according to a March 2022 report by Yonhap News Agency, Cheong Wa Dae officials had suggested that the dogs cannot live in Moon’s private residence after his retirement as they were gifted to him as the head of the state and not as an individual.

Yoon’s office has denied intervening in the issue saying that it was not involved in the deliberations and that discussions between the relevant parties are currently ongoing.

A look back at dog diplomacy

This is not the first time a North Korean leader has gifted dogs to his South Korean counterpart. In 2000, Kim Jong-un’s father, Kim Jong II sent two Pungsan dogs to the then-South Korean president Kim Dae-jung during their first inter-Korean summit.

Animal diplomacy is a common practice among world leaders.

In 2012, Russian President Vladimir Putin was presented with a dog as a gift from the Japanese government. However, in 2016, the gift was turned down by Putin for unspecified reasons. The dog was a female Akita named Yume.

In the same year when Putin rejected Japan’s gift, he was gifted an albai dog by the Turkmenistan President, Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov who said while presenting the dog that it was a birthday gift for Putin, according to a report by The Washington Post. The dog was later named ‘Verny’ which means faithful in Russian.

Putin has also considered canines as possible gift options. In 2012, he offered a three-month-old terrier dog to Venezuela’s leader Hugo Chavez. The breed is informally known as a “Stalin dog”.

With inputs from agencies

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