Seoul’s North Korean Relief Effort

The South Korean government is expected to provide the first shipment of relief goods worth one million dollars to the North Korean people suffering a devastating blast at the Yongcheon train station in North Pyongan province on this Wednesday.

The government held a “Planning Administrative Work for Anti-calamity Measures for the Yongcheon Disaster” meeting to come up with some specific aid measures at the Central Government Complex on Sunday. Choi Kyung-soo, the Chief Coordinator for Society under the Office for Government Policy Coordination, presided over this meeting. Some directors of government agencies concerned, including the Unification Ministry and the Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry, participated in it.

“We are considering sending our relief supplies to North Korea aboard a medical supply transport ship of the Korea National Red Cross (KNRC), which is expected to leave Incheon for Nampo, North Korea on Wednesday. However, the day can be moved to an earlier one if North Korea accepts the transport of relief goods by land,” the government official said.

At yesterday’s meeting, the government decided to discuss with Pyongyang the deployment of first-aid support teams with 20 or 25 members and hospital ships to North Korea, and help with emergency repairs in the Yongcheon area. The government is expected to convey its specific aid plan across the sector to North Korea thorough a liaison at the Panmunjeom truce village on Monday afternoon at the earliest.

Ahead of this meeting, Acting President Goh Kun held an urgent meeting with related ministers and decided to assist the World Health Organization’s aid efforts toward North with $200,000 as well as with help to North Korea directly.

“Besides the $200,000, there will be further aid efforts from Seoul towards Pyongyang through the U.N, ” the Foreign Ministry Authorities said.

Seung-Ryun Kim srkim@donga.com