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Flood-affected areas in North Korea’s North Hamgyong Province

Despite the South Korean government’s refusal to allow NGOs to provide humanitarian aid to victims of flooding in North Korea, these groups are taking steps to provide aid anyway. With cold weather coming soon to affected areas in North Korea’s North Hamgyong Province, the UN and other international groups are allocating additional funding as they hurry to provide disaster relief.

The Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea (KNCCK), an alliance of 54 organizations that provide aid to North Korea, announced on Oct. 12 that it was sending money to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help North Korean flood victims. The groups are donating a total of US$187,000 in aid. The KNCCK sent the first payment of US$100,000 to the Red Cross on Oct. 12 and is planning to send the rest of the money on Oct. 18.

“North Hamgyong Province is the northernmost part of North Korea, and nighttime temperatures in mid-October drop below zero. With time, the cold will gradually get worse, and underprivileged people will be suffering in the freezing temperatures without anywhere to go,” said Kwak Yeong-ju, chair of KNCCK’s operating committee.

“In addition to the tents and food that are needed to provide relief to the victims in the flooded areas, we have signed an agreement with the Red Cross stating that our donations will be used for non-food items,” Kwak said.

The Korean Sharing Movement, which celebrated its 20th anniversary earlier this year, sent 28 million won (US$24,860) worth of wheat and ramen noodles via its own aid channels in two shipments on Sep. 20 and Sep. 26 using money it raised on its own. On Sep. 29 and Sep. 30, it also sent 80 million won worth of critical medical supplies and flooring material for rebuilding houses.

In a weekly report about humanitarian aid in Asia and the Pacific, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that as of Oct. 10 over 69,000 victims had been left homeless by the floods in North Hamgyong Province. More than 600,000 people are receiving emergency aid in the six affected counties in the northern part of North Hamgyong Province. As a consequence, the UN has allocated US$5 million from its Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide humanitarian aid to the city of Hoeryong and to Musan and Yonsa counties, which were hardest hit by the flooding.

“Come the end of October we’re likely to see sub-zero temperatures and snowfall as winter sets in, and winter can be extremely long and bitter here,” said Paolo Fattori on Oct. 7 in a statement calling for emergency aid. Fattori is doing relief work on the ground as North Korean program director for Save the Children.

By Jung In-hwan, staff reporter

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