 Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung answers questions from reporters after a press briefing in the Central Government Complex in Seoul, Friday. / Yonhap |
Staff Reporter
South Korea will send 7.1 billion won ($7.5 million) worth of emergency aid to North Korea, which is continuing to suffer from the effects of recent heavy rain the Ministry of Unification said Friday.
Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said in a press briefing that the government has decided to send instant noodles, bottled water, blankets and medical supplies to the North and he will discuss the details with Korea Red Cross Chairman Han Wan-sang.
``Considering the seriousness of the flood and the North's call on the international community for aid, we have decided to give emergency aid to North Korea,'' Lee told reporters.
He said that the government feels sympathy for the victims and the damage in North Korea and hoped the aid would prove both helpful and resourceful for a speedy recovery.
The South will also discuss sending equipment and additional aid needed to repair damage in the North after transporting the emergency aid via sea and land routes.
Meanwhile, Lee didn't touch upon some local reports that Seoul will send 100,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang in additional emergency aid.
The South has been delivering 400,000 tons of rice to the North in deferred loan-payments under agreements regarding cross-border economic cooperation.
The Join Together Society, a Seoul-based humanitarian aid group, said it would donate corn worth about $250,000 to help the North recover from the flooding.
North Korea is appealing for international aid after at least 200,000 people were displaced and vast swaths of farmland were submerged by the worst flooding since the 1970s.
There have been no confirmed casualties but 200 to 800 people are reported to be missing while attempts to provide emergency aid have been hampered by damaged bridges, railway tracks and roads.
The North's Korea Central News Agency said earlier this week that torrential rain from Aug. 7-12 destroyed at least 30,000 houses and more than 540 bridges and sections of railways.
The rainfall in Pyongyang and Seohung reached 580 and 796 millimeters, respectively, a 60-percent increase compared with normal annual precipitation there.
yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr
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