North¡¯s delegates get royal treatment

Chun Keum-Jin, chief of North Korea¡¯s delegation to the inter-Korean ministerial-level meeting in the South, as well as other members of the group expressed genuine thanks for the warm treatment they received while in Seoul.

The hotel accommodations for the chief delegate was none other than the Royal Suite on the 21st floor of the Shilla Hotel -- a room that normally costs 2.2 million won per night. The Royal Suite has been lodging for such prominent global figures as the financial giant president of the Quantum Fund George Soros and Intel president Andy Grove, among a list of international VIPs.

To cater to the needs of the North` delegates, the Shilla Hotel had put together a 31-member task force to oversee all operations on a 24-hour basis.

The total cost of accommodations for the 25-member delegation was 45.5 million won in hotel lodging fees and 13.5 million won in food service, a total of about 60 million won. Adding the various other banquets and transportation costs, the total cost of their stay in Seoul is estimated at over 100 million won.

In contrast, for the inter-Korean talks in Beijing that took place in April 1998, chief delegate Chun was known to have stayed at the Jing-Loon Hotel in Beijing at a cost of US$85 per night. The Jing-Loon Hotel is considered a better-than-average class hotel.