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As flood damages this year in North Korea were more severe than originally thought, the government said that it will consider sending aid if an international organization or the Korea National Red Cross makes an official request.
A government official said Thursday, "In the event that North Korea issues an appeal for emergency relief to the international community, or the Korea National Red Cross asks for emergency aid for the North, the government is prepared to review such petitions." If the government ends up providing food to Pyongyang via international organizations, it does so less than one month after stating its decision to suspend rice and fertilizer shipments to Pyongyang in response to the test-firing of missiles on July 5.
In an almost unprecedented move, the Unification Ministry published a press release which assessed the flood damages that North suffered this year. According to the ministry, North Korea's state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that heavy downpours left hundreds of people dead or missing in South Pyongan province. The International Federation of the Red Cross and the World Food Program issued a call for multi-national assistance to North Korea, pointing out the scope of the disaster: nearly 60,000 flood victims and 100,000 tons of food losses. Good Friends, a North Korean human rights organization working here said that the North suffered damages 10 times greater than those estimated by international organizations and "We are hearing that some 3,000 North Koreans have either gone missing or been reported dead."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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