S. Korea cuts budget for envisioned peace park in DMZ

South Korea has slashed the budget for an ambitious plan to build a peace park inside the heavily fortified border with North Korea, the unification ministry said Thursday.

The National Assembly has earmarked 30.2 billion won ($28.7 million) for the pet project of President Park Geun-hye, 10 billion won less than requested by the ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs. The Assembly cited a lack of feasibility as the reason for the reduction.

Last year, Park proposed that the two Koreas build an international park inside the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas as part of efforts to improve their relations.

The budget cut illustrates lingering questions over the feasibility of the project that requires cooperation not only from North Korea, but the U.S.-led United Nations Command as well.

The DMZ, a four-kilometer-wide buffer zone separating the two Koreas, is under the jurisdiction of the U.N Command and North Korea.

The two Koreas technically remain in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap News)