Seoul offers relief aid to Pyongyang after typhoon

Pyongyang accepted an offer from the South Korean government of emergency relief aid in the wake of the recent massive typhoon that devastated the impoverished regime.

South Korea’s Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said at a parliamentary hearing on Friday that the ministry has asked to offer emergency aid to the North in the midst of the long-standing stalled relations between the two Koreas.

“On Sept. 3, the South Korean Red Cross Society sent a message to offer emergency aid, and Jang Jae-on, chairman of the North Korean Red Cross, sent a reply today,” a Unification Ministry official told reporters.

“They asked us to tell them the items and the quantity we would offer them.”

The official said that the ministry hasn’t determined details on the items.

A tug-of-war is expected between the two Koreas surrounding what kind of items the South would provide.

Last summer, the flood-hit North Korea asked for rice and cement from the South for their recovery works, but the South Korean government rejected the call, for fear that the provisions would go to the military. Instead, they proposed offering so-called nutritional aid, such as instant noodles, but the North turned it down and received nothing.

by Kim Hee-jin [heejin@joongang.co.kr]