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N.Korea makes first request for flood aid: group
North Korea has asked Seoul for aid to repair damage from floods that could tip the impoverished state into famine, a South Korean group said on Wednesday.It is the first time a North Korean organization has formally requested help from the South for help for the flooding, which destroyed roads, railways and homes. South Korea has said it is considering a one-time package of aid to avert a crisis in North Korea despite strains between the neighbors over Pyongyang's July 5 missile tests. Three major storms hit North Korea last month, causing floods that killed at least 151 people, and possibly more. The secretive state is suspicious of outside aid workers and limits their access to people and places, making it difficult to receive a clear picture of the extent of the damage. It has said the storms left hundreds dead or missing. A North Korean committee on reconciliation sent a fax to its counterpart in the South requesting building material, machinery, food, blankets and medication to help it cope with a disaster international aid agencies say left tens of thousands homeless. "We express our appreciation for the efforts by the ... (South Korean) committee and other groups to overcome the difficulties with brotherly love faced together by the North and the South due to the unexpected floods," it said in the message. The North, which battles chronic food shortages, has relied on food handouts from Seoul for years. The South suspended regular food aid last month after Pyongyang officials stormed out of an inter-Korean meeting at which Seoul asked the North to explain why it defied international warnings and test-fired seven missiles. The North has halted several inter-Korean cooperation projects in retaliation for the collapsed discussions. The South said it could resume food aid if the North returned to stalled talks on ending its nuclear weapons program. More Posted by: tipper 2006-08-09 |
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