First flood aid leaves for North

South Korea’s first aid package to help North Korean flood victims left Incheon yesterday, a Seoul-based international relief organization said. The eight containers full of goods include 100 tons of flour, 37,500 packs of instant noodles and 2,660 candles.
The Join Together Society, a relief agency founded by the Buddhist civic group Jungto Society, plans to send three more shipments to North Korea. Yesterday’s package, worth 120 million won ($124,262), will arrive in the North’s Nampo Harbor today, the aid group said. The aid packages will be given to flood victims of South Pyongan province, where the damage was reportedly severe.
The second shipment will include $50,000 worth of medicine and other goods including blankets and dishes, the group said. The goods will be purchased in China and sent to the North by trucks. The third and fourth shipments will be food aid, to be shipped from Incheon to Nampo.
More non-governmental groups said yesterday they will initiate fundraising drives to support flood victims in both South and North Koreas. The South Korean Committee for Implementation of the June 15 Joint Declaration, an alliance of civic, social, religious and political groups, said its members will provide contributions from today till Tuesday to raise $100,000. The fundraising drive will expand to the public by the end of next month, and the money will be spent to help flood victims of both Koreas, the committee said.
A relief agency for North Korea under the National Unification Advisory Council also announced its plan to provide aid packages to support flood victims in the North. The organization said 50 million won worth of goods, including 300 hand carts, will depart Incheon on Wednesday for Nampo. Additional goods, including medicine, will be provided, and the group planned site surveys in North Korea at the end of this month to see if the victims need further assistance, the group said.
The United Nations and the Red Cross were conservative about the North’s suffering after the July floods. The United Nations estimated at least 154 North Korean deaths and 127 missing, while the Red Cross said 141 were killed and another 112 were missing. A South Korean civic group said earlier this week that up to 10,000 were missing or dead.
Meanwhile, international media reported yesterday that the North has refused aid offers from the World Food Program and Red Cross.

by Ser Myo-ja