ROK anticipates increased humanitarian aid for DPRK

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The Republic of Korea's (ROK's) Ministry of Unification in charge of inter-Korean affairs anticipated an increase in humanitarian aid for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) under new UN guidelines.

An unnamed ministry official said on Tuesday that the new UN guidelines were anticipated to become an opportunity to resolve difficulties for humanitarian aid to the DPRK and facilitate the international community's aid to the country.

The comment came after the UN Security Council adopted a US proposal to facilitate humanitarian assistance for the DPRK on Monday (New York time).

In September last year, the ROK planned to provide 8 million US dollars for the World Food Program and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), which would have spent the money on malnourished mothers and babies in the DPRK.

The plan, however, was halted amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula, caused by the DPRK's nuclear and missile tests.

As detente emerged on the peninsula with the DPRK's summits with the ROK and the US, Seoul was forecast to resume humanitarian aid projects for Pyongyang under new UN guidelines.

(Cover: Members of the ROK's National Red Cross wave to trucks carrying aid supplies to the DPRK, in the Demilitarized Zone, May 7, 2004. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency