▲ This photo taken on Sept. 17, 2018, shows Baengmagoji Station in Cheorwon County, Gangwon Province, the final stop on the operational South Korean section of the Gyeongwon Railway. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, Sept. 1 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry is seeking over 1.25 trillion won (US$913.7 million) for next year's budget, including 1.11 trillion won earmarked for the "inter-Korean cooperation fund," it said Tuesday, amid efforts to revive long-dormant exchanges with North Korea.

The ministry's budget proposal marks a 0.82 percent increase from this year, and will top 1 trillion won for a second consecutive year, if approved by the National Assembly.

Among the notable items is roughly 24.7 billion won for an envisioned cross-border railway, named Gyeongwon Railway, which the government plans to resume next year.

Work on the line was halted in May 2016, following North Korea's fourth nuclear test earlier that year. The ministry aims to finish the South Korean section by 2029. Once completed, the railway would connect Seoul and Wonsan in the North.

Funding for a North Korean human rights foundation was slashed by 90 percent because the organization has yet to launch. According to a unification ministry official, the cut simply reflects that all allocated funds from last year went entirely unused.

Reflecting a shift in policy priorities, the ministry's next-year budget prioritizes youth education on "peaceful coexistence," a campaign that marks a departure from previous governments' focus on unification.

To that end, some 7.15 billion won will be set aside to build up a dedicated workforce of up to 10,000 people. The ministry has hired around 4,000 so far, it said.

Funding for humanitarian aid, including support for infants and healthcare and relief assistance, is set to be cut by 15 percent after an evaluation flagged related programs as underperforming.

The ministry official called the cut "unavoidable," given the suspension of inter-Korean exchanges. But the official stressed that Seoul remains fully committed to inter-Korean cooperation, with increased economic cooperation loans keeping the overall fund level unchanged.

Since taking office in June last year, President Lee Jae Myung has repeatedly reached out to Pyongyang to improve ties. Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has said he will seek to revive suspended joint economic projects with the North.

The two Koreas currently have no joint economic or cooperative projects under way amid strained relations.

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