hankyoreh

North Korea

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and other international organizations and private groups are scrambling to provide aid to victims of flooding in North Korea.

The ICRC plans to increase aid from its emergency disaster relief fund to over 1,300 families in the city of Rason, which suffered severe damages, the US nonprofit Radio Free Asia (RFA) reported on Sept. 3.

The ICRC is also providing technical support to the Red Cross Society of the Democratic People‘s Republic of Korea, and has stored relief items in warehouses in Pyongyang and near Rason with relief items in case of additional damage.

The measures were taken following a general survey of flood damages conducted on Aug. 26. The ICRC previously provided food and tents for families as part of an initial relief package.

The WFP also plans to launch a support effort this month in conjunction with other UN relief organizations in North Korea for residents in the flood-ravaged areas.

Damian Kean, the WFP’s spokesperson for Asia, explained that the food assistance would be provided as part of a “regional development participation” effort, with supplies given to residents participating in recovery for damaged areas.

North Korea has also requested support from private groups in Germany and the United Kingdom. In Germany, the humanitarian organization Cap Anamur is preparing support for the flood-stricken areas following a request from the North Korean embassy in Berlin. ShelterBox, a British NGO, is considering support after a request from the North Korean embassy in the UK.

The South Korean government previously announced that it would “consider the damage and the humanitarian aspect” if aid is requested by Pyongyang.

Around forty people were killed and over 1,000 homes damaged by heavy rains in the special economic zone of Rason on Aug. 22 and 23 due to the effects of Typhoon Goni. Over 11,000 people were affected.

Meanwhile, food aid to North Korea from the WFP reached a twenty-two-month high last month, a Voice of America broadcast on Sept. 3 reported. In the report, Damian Kean, WFP Regional Communications Officer for Asia, was quoted as saying that 3,785 tons of nutritionally fortified foods, beans, and cooking oil were provided to 733,000 children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers in August.

But a lack of funds has forced the WFP to scale back the number of North Korean cities and countries receiving food aid from 87 to 69, and five of seven nutritional cracker factories operated in the country have been shut down, the organization said.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer

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