South Korea is considering more cuts to the defence budget to fund a third round of extra spending to cope with the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The South Korean finance ministry recently submitted the amount it is pushing to cut from defence spending this year for the extra budget the government plans to announce next month, according to the source.
The amount is reportedly around 700 billion Won ($570 million), though it is subject to change as discussions are under way over the details of the budget restructuring.
"The government is considering restructuring the expenditure to fund a third extra budget," defense ministry spokesperson Choi Hyun-soo told a regular press briefing. "But details, such as its size or which businesses to be impacted, are yet to be decided."
The government has already cut 1.47 trillion Won of defence spending to fund the second extra budget.
Source - YONHAP News
