Seouls N.Korean Aid Falls 72%
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
South Korea's humanitarian aid to the North during the first four months of this year fell 72 percent compared with the same period last year.
But overall bilateral transactions went up from last year, according to new government figures.
The Ministry of Unification said Tuesday that the total amount of South-North transactions between January and April of this year was 584 billion won ($561 million), up 37 percent from one year ago.
In that overall amount, regular commerce and economic cooperation constituted 555 billion won, up more than 50 percent from last year.
But non-business transactions, including humanitarian aid, were down by more than half, to 27 billion won.
Humanitarian aid, which includes food and farming supplies, fell 72 percent to 19 billion won, according to government figures.
A Unification Ministry official said that ``following the inauguration of President Lee Myung-bak, the new administration hasn't yet started a government-level humanitarian aid program. That contributed to the overall decline for the humanitarian aid to the North.''
The Lee administration may soon boost its food aid to the North, however.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade said Tuesday that the government may provide grain to North Korea through the World Food Program (WFP), the food aid branch of the United Nations.
Last year, the South Korean government gave to the North some 32,000 tons of corn and soybeans through the WFP.