 |
| ▲ This file photo, taken Sept. 5, 2023, shows Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho attending an interpellation session at the National Assembly in Seoul. (Yonhap) |
unification ministry-N Korea
Unification ministry says to monitor conditions to resume humanitarian aid to N. Korea
SEOUL, Oct. 11 (Yonhap) -- The unification ministry said Wednesday it will review whether to resume humanitarian assistance to North Korea, after closely monitoring the progress of international organizations' preparations for aid projects.
The ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said South Korea is ready to provide humanitarian aid to the North, as the government has the stance that it will seek such assistance regardless of the political and military situation.
"The government will review proper measures (to resume) humanitarian aid to North Korea, based on object assessments about the North Korean situation, once international organizations bring their staff members back to the North amid the country's border reopening," the ministry said in a policy report for a parliamentary audit.
North Korea began opening its border with China in late August after its yearslong border closure over the COVID-19 pandemic, raising expectations that the World Food Program (WFP) and other U.N. agencies could soon be allowed to send back their field officials to the North to resume aid projects.
South Korea provided humanitarian aid to North Korea through U.N. agencies: US$151.3 million to the WFP, $66.48 million to the World Health Organization and $40.14 million to the U.N. Children's Fund from 1996 to 2022.
Separately, South Korea provided North Korea with nutritional supplies and medicines, valued at about 36 billion won (US$26.8 million), through the combination of a government fund and private organizations' funds from 2018 to 2022.
The ministry, meanwhile, said North Korea is focusing on advancing its nuclear and missile programs while making efforts to tackle food shortages.
North Korea harvested an increased amount of corn and potatoes in August and September and boosted grain imports from China, but those efforts are still not enough to alleviate the country's chronic food shortages, it said.
North Korea imported 220,000 tons of grain from China in the first eight months of this year, compared with 137,000 tons for the whole year of 2022 and 9,000 tons in 2021, the ministry said.
With deaths from starvation reported in some regions, North Korea has reportedly been facing serious food shortages, as its prolonged COVID-19 border closure and disruptions in state-controlled food supply have aggravated the situation.
North Korea has recently amended its constitution to enshrine the policy of its nuclear weapons development in an apparent bid to stress that it will not give up its nuclear arsenal and will continue to bolster its nuclear capabilities, the ministry said.
(END)
(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved
