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South Korea's humanitarian aid to North comes to zero

Published: 05 Mar. 2025, 16:16

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, inspects flooded areas in the northwestern city of Sinuiju following heavy rainfall in a photo carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency in August 2024. [YONHAP]

South Korea's humanitarian assistance to North Korea reached zero last year, for the first time in nearly 30 years, amid Pyongyang's continued antagonistic stance toward Seoul, the Ministry of Unification said Wednesday.

Not a single humanitarian assistance program for North Korea was carried out last year, either at the government or private level, according to the ministry.

It marked the first time that such aid to North Korea has come to zero since South Korea began providing humanitarian assistance in 1995, when torrential rain and flooding in the North caused severe food shortages.

South Korea provided 150,000 tons of rice to North Korea at that time.

Seoul's humanitarian aid to Pyongyang has since continued and peaked at 439.7 billion won ($302.1 million) in 2007 before starting to decline as North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile development gained traction.

The last such aid to North Korea was a nutrition support program for North Korean children, carried out in 2023 with a budget of 900 million won, which included 700 million won in private funding.

The last direct assistance from the South Korean government was a forest pest control product provision worth 1.2 billion won in 2018.

The last assistance through an international organization was food aid worth 11.8 billion won, carried out in 2020 via the World Food Program, although it remains unexecuted due to North Korea's refusal.

The absence of humanitarian assistance from South Korea to North Korea came as Pyongyang continues its enmity toward Seoul, most notably marked by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's 2023 order to designate South Korea as the primary foe.

“North Korea is not accepting most outside assistance proposals, except those from Unicef. Its refusal of those from South Korea is stronger,” a Unification Ministry official said.

Yonhap