By Kim Young-jin
Seoul could consider providing a modest amount of government-level flood relief to North Korea amid reports of severe rain there, officials said, but added that further damage estimates was needed.
The stance came amid reports from North Korea that powerful winds and flash floods had destroyed 2,900 homes and several dozens of people had died.
“The government is closely watching the situation,” an official said, also mentioning that assessments by the international community could be taken into consideration but that Seoul would make its own decision.
“Government-level assistance is a possibility. But a thorough evaluation of the damage is needed.”
Any resumption of government-level aid would be the first since Seoul halted such activities after Pyongyang shelled Yeonpyeong Island in November, killing four.
Another official said that the recent heavy rains did not appear more serious than around the same time in previous years.
Pyongyang has closely reported the details of the severe weather that has slammed the peninsula, prompting speculation it could be angling for more aid from the international community.
The North often sustains heavy rain damage due to poor infrastructure and massive deforestation.
Last July, the North’s state media reported severe flooding mostly around the border with China that left thousands homeless and wiped out over 35,000 acres of farmland. The destruction spurred the Lee administration to mobilize rare aid including rice during a respite in the tension that normally chills the relations. Those shipments were later halted due to Pyongyang’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island as were all other forms of aid.
Seoul has since allowed civic groups to provide assistance to the North but no government support has been forthcoming.
Meanwhile, Hyundai Asan, organizer of the stalled inter-Korean tourism project at Mt. Geumgang in the North, said it had been approved to visit the site on Thursday to observe the anniversary of the death of former chairman Chung Mong-hun.
The firm said it would check on the state of its assets at the resort, which remain seized by Pyongyang, but did not know whether they would meet with North Korean officials.
The North has said it will take steps to dispose of South Korean property at the scenic resort after months of bickering between the sides. It also offered to meet with the firms over how to resolve the issue of the assets.
The ministry said no decision had been made on how to deal with the stalemate over the project, once a symbol of reconciliation. Seoul says it could take the matter to international arbitration but as yet has taken no moves in that direction.
The North recently passed laws inviting foreign investment in the resort, breaching inter-Korean agreements. It is apparently frustrated that Seoul refuses to resume the lucrative tours unless the death of a South Korean tourist in 2008, shot while allegedly walking outside the resort’s boundary, is addressed.