South Korea plans to increase its counterterrorism budget by around 100 billion won ($85 million) in the wake of Friday's attacks in Paris, the ruling party said on Wednesday.
The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the coordinated attacks, which killed at least 129 people, as well as for the downing of a Russian jet over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula on Oct. 31, saying they were in retaliation for French and Russian airstrikes in Iraq and Syria.
South Korea is not militarily involved in airstrikes against the Islamic State, but lawmakers from the ruling Saenuri Party as well as government security and foreign policy officials met on Wednesday to discuss an increase in counter-terrorism spending for next year, the party said.
Seoul plans to buy five high-speed boats worth 29.6 billion won ($25.2 million) and will invest an additional 30 billion won ($25.5 million) in countering potential chemical attacks, Lee Cheol-woo, one of the lawmakers who attended the meeting, told reporters.
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