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South Korean President Moon Jae-in with David Beasley

The South Korean government is about to keep its repeated promise to give US$8 million from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund to UN organizations that run public health programs and provide nutritional assistance for vulnerable groups in North Korea, such as pregnant mothers and young children. The necessary steps for providing the aid have all been completed.

Between May 29 and June 5, the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council reviewed and approved a motion to provide money from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund for nutritional support and maternity health programs run by the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the Unification Ministry announced.

“Within a few days, US$8 million will be paid in cash to the WFP and UNICEF. These two international organizations will be responsible for procuring supplies through their own purchasing systems and providing the aid to North Korea,” the Ministry said.

This is the first time that the South Korean government has provided humanitarian aid to North Korea since Moon Jae-in became president. It remains to be seen whether this will serve to break the ice in inter-Korean relations, which remain frozen.

The approved aid plan is effectively the same as the plan that was passed by the Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council on Sept. 21, 2017, early in the Moon administration, but which was not carried out, because of worsening tensions in 2017 and because of de facto opposition from the US government in 2018, eventually causing the plan’s legal timeframe to expire.

The US$8 million in aid will be divided between the two organizations, with US$4.5 million going to the WFP and US$3.5 million going to UNICEF. The WFP will be using the money to supply nutrient-rich food to vulnerable groups, including infants, young children, and pregnant and nursing mothers, at nurseries, orphanages, and pediatric wards in 60 counties across North Korea’s nine provinces. UNICEF will be using its funding in a program that supplies North Korean children and pregnant and nursing mothers with therapeutic foods, kits containing essential medical supplies, and micronutrient mixes.

It’s also likely that South Korea will soon be providing food aid to North Korea. During a meeting of the standing committee of the National Security Council on May 17, the South Korean government said it would “continue reviewing a specific plan for providing food aid to North Korea, either directly or through international organizations [such as the WFP], while adequately canvassing public opinion on the topic.”

On June 1, Seoul Mayor Park Won-sun announced that the city was planning to provide US$1 million to the WFP’s program to improve nutrition for infants and young children in North Korea, in addition to any action the central government may take. Park made the comments during an appearance on the YouTube program “Rhyu Si-min’s Alileo.”

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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