On one hand, I'd think Ko San, ROK's first astronaut could find better things to do than mix dirt in space. On the other hand, there is a certain diplomatic symbolism involved by both mixing North and South Korean dirt (in a Russian spacecraft), and using Japanese technology for other experiments.

"We still think this is one country. So I'm going to bring the soil of North and South (Korea). I'm going to mix them up in space," he said. The 31-year-old scientist will leave Earth in April aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket and spend 10 days conducting experiments at the International Space Station.

(…)

The Ministry of Science and Technology said Wednesday that Ko will use equipment developed by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) in his experiments at the International Space Station.

Japan and Korea will sign a declaration agreeing to cooperate in space exploration in Seoul on Thursday. Korea will use JAXA's portable device for measuring space radiation and an HDTV camera for Ko's space experiments.

I'm sure no Japanese equipment will touch the sacred dirt.