By Kim Young-jin
Seoul has offered to provide aid to flood-hit North Korea, officials said Friday, but Pyongyang had yet to reply.
The offer was made Monday through Red Cross channels and included a request to hold related talks later this month, a unification ministry official said on condition of anonymity.
The remark came amid speculation over how the government would handle the North’s woes brought on by Typhoon Bolaven, as international groups have pledged aid to the impoverished state.
Another official said the Lee administration remained mum after making the offer due to the sensitivity of the matter. “Sometimes media hype is not conducive to the situation,” the official said.
During a parliamentary meeting earlier in the day, Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said the offer was made in light of a dry spell in May and June and typhoons that “resulted in the massive loss of human lives and damaged farmland, homes and infrastructure."
The North’s state media has reported that floods since June have left 569 people dead or missing. Bolaven, which hit the peninsula last week, left 21,180 people homeless and some 6,700 houses destroyed.
The ministry has begun to approve local civic groups to deliver aid such as flour. But it remains under pressure to aid the northern neighbor despite icy ties.
On Tuesday, Saenuri Party chairman Hwang Woo-yea urged the government to consider making the offer.
The Lee administration has been cautious in offering aid given sanctions implemented after the North’s two deadly provocations in 2010, which it is still waiting on apologies for. Last year it offered to send emergency supplies, but Pyongyang spurned the package, saying it wanted food and rice instead.
The international community remains wary that aid to the North is diverted for military purposes or stockpiled.
Various local NGOs and international aid groups are expected to deliver aid next month.
Analysts say the offer could test the appetite of the North to engage as it seeks to offset its heavy reliance on main ally Beijing.
The next South Korean administration is likely to attempt engagement with the North. Conservative candidate Park Geun-hye says she wants to strike a balance between deterrence and “trust-building” while liberal candidates promise to reprise more fulsome engagement.