N. Korea request more aid for flood victims: charity group
2013/08/21 13:56
SEOUL, Aug. 21 (Yonhap) -- North Korea requested more aid for its flood victims, a charity group member who recently visited the communist country said Wednesday.
Eum Joo-hyun, a representative of the Medical Aid for Children, said North Korean officials from the Council for National Reconciliation (CNR) outlined the devastation caused by flooding last month and asked for more support.
The aid worker and others from the civic group were in the North four days earlier in the month to monitor the delivery of 223 million won (US$208,200) worth of medical supplies for children in the impoverished country.
"CNR officials claimed that there was considerable flood damage in places like Sinuiju Sariwon and Anju and expressed a desire to receive aid in the form of food," said Eum.
The claims confirm reports by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that said some 49,052 people were displaced from their homes, with 28 killed and 18 reported missing. The damages were caused by extensive flooding and landslides following torrential rains in July.
Meanwhile, the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea (KNCCK) made up of 56 charity groups said it is in the process of asking the government to allow more private relief shipments to the North.
Under President Park Geun-hye, Seoul has so far allowed only five groups to send aid to the North, although it has stressed its willingness to provide humanitarian assistance regardless of political and military developments taking place on the Korean Peninsula.
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