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South Korea Says It’s Unlikely to Help North Recover From Flood
South Korea Says It’s Unlikely to Help North Recover From Flood
(about 20 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said on Monday that it was unlikely to provide humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of flood survivors in North Korea even if the country asked for help, reaffirming its hard-line stance after the North’s fifth nuclear test.
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea said on Monday that it was unlikely to provide humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of flood survivors in North Korea even if the country asked for help, reaffirming its hard-line stance after the North’s fifth nuclear test.
North Korea has mobilized soldiers and workers in internal relief efforts for an estimated 140,000 victims in its northern provinces after torrential rains last month caused what it has described as some of the worst flooding in its history. International relief agencies like the United Nations World Food Program have also sent food and other assistance and have appealed for millions of dollars in international donations.
North Korea has mobilized soldiers and workers in internal relief efforts for an estimated 140,000 victims in its northern provinces after torrential rains last month caused what it has described as some of the worst flooding in its history. International relief agencies like the United Nations World Food Program have also sent food and other assistance and have appealed international donations.
On Monday, the South Korean government said it would not help.
On Monday, the South Korean government said it would not help. “North Korea has not asked for help, and we don’t expect it to,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry, said at a news briefing. “Even if it does, I think, given the present situation, that the possibility of providing aid is low.”
“North Korea has not asked for help, and we don’t expect it to,” Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South’s Unification Ministry, said during a news briefing. “Even if it does, I think, given the present situation, that the possibility of providing aid is low.”
News of flooding and extensive damage in the impoverished North has prompted many in the South to call for sending humanitarian aid.
News of flooding and extensive damage in the impoverished North has prompted many in the South to call for sending humanitarian aid.
Despite North Korea’s frequent military provocations and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, the suffering of ordinary citizens often elicits sympathy in the South. The South’s Constitution includes North Korea in its territory and calls for “national unity” through “humanitarianism and brotherly love.”
Despite North Korea’s frequent provocations and its pursuit of nuclear weapons, the suffering of ordinary citizens elicits sympathy in the South. The South’s Constitution includes North Korea in its territory and calls for “national unity” through “humanitarianism and brotherly love.”
The flooding hit near North Korea’s border with China, the poorest region in the country, only weeks before the start of winter.
The flooding hit near North Korea’s border with China, the poorest region in the country.
Mr. Jeong said on Monday that North Korea was not helping itself by conducting a costly nuclear test this month as its people were suffering from the floods. The nuclear test, the fifth by the North and its second this year, has prompted South Korea and its main ally, the United States, to call for a new round of tougher sanctions.
Mr. Jeong said on Monday that North Korea was not helping itself by conducting a costly nuclear test this month as its people were suffering from the floods.
“It should have spent the massive expenses not in a nuclear test but in helping its people recover from the flood damage,” Mr. Jeong said.
On Tuesday, North Korea said it had conducted the ground test of a new long-range rocket engine used to put a satellite into orbit, an effort long considered by Washington and the United Nations Security Council to be a cover for developing an intercontinental ballistic missile.
North Korea has confirmed to international aid agencies that 133 people have been killed in the floods, with 395 others missing. More than 35,500 houses and 8,700 schools and other buildings were damaged, as well as almost 40,000 acres of arable land, the agencies said. The North also said that 68,900 people were without shelter.
North Korea has not publicly appealed for outside help, instead relying on internal mobilization. The government’s response is reported each day in the state-run news media. In an editorial last week, the main party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, said that the North’s concerted relief efforts under its leader, Kim Jong-un, demonstrated a “love for humans that capitalism cannot imitate” and “will surprise the world,” as it said the country’s recent nuclear test did.
A series of floods and droughts led to a famine in the mid- and late 1990s that killed more than a million people, by some estimates.
International aid groups each year call for donations to help feed the poor in the North. But countries like South Korea have become increasingly reluctant to provide the generous aid they used to give, accusing the North of squandering its resources on its weapons programs and the lifestyle of its leaders.
Last week, while the country was struggling with the floods, the Rodong newspaper carried photographs of a smiling Mr. Kim visiting a military-run farm where rice paddies were ready for harvest. In the background of one photo were a Range Rover sport utility vehicle and a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van.
Mr. Jeong said that the cars were believed to be among the luxury items banned for North Korea under United Nations Security Council resolutions.
