hankyoreh

found in North Korea’s South Pyeongyang province. Most of Anju is covered in water from recent heavy rains. (Yonhap News)

By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporter

Seoul and Pyongyang have failed to reach an agreement on the provision of aid to recent victims of flooding in North Korea.

The Ministry of Unification announced on Sept. 12 that North Korea had refused to accept its offer of humanitarian assistance. The South planned to send flour, ramen noodles and medical equipment, but the North declined it, saying, “Such an assistance is not necessary”. But the Ministry gave no further explanation of North Korea’s refusal.

The South Korean government notified the North that “considering the urgency of the situation after the flood damage, we will send 10,000 tons of flour, 3 million packets of ramen noodles and medicine.” The South Korean government also said, “It is regrettable that the North has rejected our aid which we hoped would help North Koreans suffering from flood damage.”

It is believed that the North rejected South Korea’s aid because the provisions did not include rice and cement. After a flood in 2010, North Korea requested and received 5000 tons of rice and 300 tons of cement, but aid was cut off after the Nov. 2010 attack on Yeonpyeong Island.

The North Korean government asked for rice and cement again in 2011 after another flood, but the South rejected the request out of concern that the food would be allocated to the military instead of civilians. The South offered ramen noodles, baby formula and Choco-pies (a sweet Korean snack), but the North Korean government rejected those goods.

On Sept. 10, the North, keeping in mind the failure of last year’s negotiation, sent a tentative acceptance of the South’s offer. It asked the South Korean government to provide a list with the goods on offer and their amounts. But rice and cement were not included, and hopes for an improvement in inter-Korean relations faded away.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]