So it is going to get even more expensive?

So I was reading this caption in the Chosun today and this part made me wonder;

"In order to reduce the costs of unification, we must quickly unify, and North
Korea must end its one-sided devotion to politics and the military and open up
substantially,” Prof. Hwang Eui-gak of Korea University

How much more will they really have to spend?

So far it is estimated that S. Korea Gave North US$3.5 Billion Since 1995 and that

Total South Korea aid until 1998 totaled $306.2 million, including Seoul's
contribution to the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization. But when
the Kim Dae-jung administration took office, aid to the North increased,
recording $706.5 million in 2000 and $584.9 million in 2002. Since the start of
the Roh Moo-hyun administration, annual aid to the North has been in excess of
$500 million.

I also read through this RAND report last month that stated some wild numbers.

The truth is I am not really sure that an estimate could in any way be accurate. They are trying their best to compare it to the German model (in GDP %s and population comparisons) but the Korean peninsula is a unique entity unto itself.

To truly estimate the costs of unification one must quantify 1) any long lasting effects of DPRK "education" on the people of the North, 2) the actual situation in the North right now (estimates are there but few really know the numbers), 3) the Korean spirit must be understood and managed.

If a strong leader was to bring the peninsula together under a common vision and direction I truly think that any costs would be moot. The question then comes; what direction would a unified Korea take?