The North Korean Red Cross asked for food and cement as flood relief aid in a message to its South Korean counterpart on Thursday morning.
| The food for the army; the cement for the bunkers... |
The request came in response to an offer made by Seoul via its respective Red Cross agency the previous day to send W5 billion (US$1=W1,061) of daily necessities, medicines and other aid to the flood-stricken North.
The Unification Ministry informed the North through the relief agency on Thursday afternoon that it would provide the emergency goods as promised the previous day.
"We are not considering sending food such as rice and flour, or cement," said a ministry official. "But we are going to deliver nourishing food and instant ramen noodles, which are less likely to be diverted to the North Korean military."
| The average Nork private will each ramen noodles just fine. |
Based on the North's past practices, Seoul suspects that other materials like cement could be diverted to the regime's military, or its privileged class in Pyongyang to bolster the country's massive construction plan of 100,000 homes in the capital, at the expense of the flood victims who are in dire need of assistance.
Last year when Seoul offered to send relief aid to Sinuiju, the Sino-Korean border city that was ravaged by floods, the regime called for "rice, cement, and heavy equipment." At the time, Seoul dispatched 5,000 tons of rice and 3,600 tons of cement as a partial compromise. |