South Korea vows to send aid to North quickly, may send food

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has vowed to move quickly on its plans to provide $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to North Korea through international organizations and is also considering sending food to the country that says it's suffering its worst drought in decades.

Seoul's Unification Ministry said Monday it will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund so the aid reaches North Korean children and pregnant women quickly.

Seoul hopes the aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with Pyongyang that tapered off amid a stalemate in nuclear talks between the United States and North Korea.

But Seoul has yet to decide on concrete plans amid public frustration over recent North Korean missile tests. </s> South Korea vows to send aid to North quickly, may send food

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea vowed Monday to move quickly on its plans to provide $8 million worth of humanitarian aid to North Korea while it also considers sending food to the country that says it's suffering its worst drought in decades.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman of Seoul's Unification Ministry, said the government will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund, through which the aid would be provided, so it reaches North Korean children and pregnant women quickly. South Korea is also trying to build public and political support for providing food aid to the North, either directly or through an international organization.

North Korea's state media said last week that the country was suffering its worst drought in nearly four decades amid reported food shortages.

"The government will first discuss with international organizations over the provision of aid and take measures so that the support arrives (in the North) quickly," Lee said. "On the matter of direct aid, we will consider the matter while sufficiently garnering the opinions of our citizens."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed hopes that aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with Pyongyang, which tapered off following a high-stakes nuclear summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in February that broke down over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament.

But Moon's government has yet to decide on concrete plans amid growing public frustration over North Korea, which resumed short-range missile tests recently that were apparently aimed at pressuring Washington and Seoul.

North Korean state media said last week that 54.4 millimeters (2.1 inches) of rain fell in the first five months of 2019, which it said represented the lowest level since 1982. U.N. food agencies said earlier this month that about 10 million people were facing "severe food shortages" after one of the North's worst harvests in a decade.

North Korean state media are currently campaigning to urge farmers to do their best with what they have, to grow as much as possible this year.

"At our farm, we got an announcement about the dry weather conditions from our party and our state authorities, so we have taken advance measures to save water, like preparing the fields earlier than before, because we have to save water as much as we can," said Kim Chang Jun, vice chairman of a cooperative farm in the village of Sambong, just outside the capital.

The last time South Korea provided humanitarian aid to North Korea through an international agency was in 2015, when it gave $800,000 to the U.N. Population Fund project to evaluate North Korean public health conditions.

The South has not provided direct food aid to the North since 2010.

Moon's government first proposed providing $8 million to the WFP and UNICEF to help North Korean children and pregnant women in 2017, but the plans were halted amid a torrid run in North Korean weapons tests that year. An abrupt turn toward diplomacy in 2018 saw Kim meet with Trump twice and three times with Moon. </s> South Korea vowed yesterday to move quickly on plans to provide US$8 million worth of humanitarian aid to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea while it also considers sending food to the country that says it’s suffering its worst drought in decades.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman of Seoul’s Unification Ministry, said the government will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund, through which the aid would be provided, so it reaches DPRK children and pregnant women quickly.

South Korea is also trying to build public and political support for providing food aid to the DPRK, either directly or through an international organization.

DPRK’s state media said last week that the country was suffering its worst drought in more than a century amid reported food shortages.

“The government will first discuss with international organizations over the provision of aid and take measures so that the support arrives (in the DPRK) quickly,” Lee said. “On the matter of direct aid, we will consider the matter.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed hopes that aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with Pyongyang, which tapered off following a high-stakes nuclear summit between DPRK leader Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump in February that broke down over mismatched demands in sanctions relief and disarmament.

But Moon’s government has yet to decide on concrete plans amid growing public frustration over DPRK, which resumed short-range missile tests recently.

DPRK’s official Korean Central News Agency said last Wednesday that an average of 54.4 millimeters of rain fell from January to early May in 2019, which represented the lowest level since 1982. </s> Seoul offers food aid to North Korea in bid to revive diplomatic talks

SEOUL — South Korea vowed Monday to move quickly on plans to provide $8 million worth of medical and nutritional aid for North Korean children through U.N. agencies while it also considers sending broader food aid to the country, which says it is suffering its worst drought in decades.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman for Seoul’s Unification Ministry, said the government will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund, through which the aid would be provided, so it reaches North Korean children and pregnant women. South Korea is also trying to build public and political support for providing wider food aid to North Korea, either directly or through the WFP.

North Korea’s state media last week reported that the country was suffering its worst drought in more than a century amid reported food shortages.

“The government will first discuss with international organizations over the provision of aid and take measures so that the support arrives (in North Korea) quickly,” Lee said. “On the matter of direct aid, we will consider the matter while sufficiently garnering the opinions of our citizens.”

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed hopes that aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with North Korea, which tapered off after a nuclear summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in February broke down because of differences over sanctions relief and disarmament steps. Kim has since declared that the Trump administration has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations.

Kim’s government recently resumed short-range missile tests that were apparently aimed at pressuring Washington and Seoul. </s> SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea vowed Monday to move quickly on plans to provide $8 million worth of medical and nutritional aid for North Korean children through U.N. agencies while it also considers sending broader food aid to the country, which says it is suffering its worst drought in decades.

Lee Sang-min, spokesman for Seoul's Unification Ministry, said the government will discuss its plans with the World Food Program and the United Nations Children's Fund, through which the aid would be provided, so it reaches North Korean children and pregnant women quickly. South Korea is also trying to build public and political support for providing wider food aid to North Korea, either directly or through the WFP.

North Korea's state media said last week that the country was suffering its worst drought in more than a century amid reported food shortages.

"The government will first discuss with international organizations over the provision of aid and take measures so that the support arrives (in North Korea) quickly," Lee said. "On the matter of direct aid, we will consider the matter while sufficiently garnering the opinions of our citizens."

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has expressed hopes that aid will help revive diplomacy and engagement with North Korea, which tapered off after a nuclear summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump in February broke down because of differences over sanctions relief and disarmament steps. Kim has since declared that the Trump administration has until the end of the year to come up with mutually acceptable terms for a deal to salvage the negotiations.

While the United States has urged allies to maintain economic pressure on North Korea until it takes material steps toward relinquishing its nuclear weapons, White House spokesman Sarah Sanders recently said Washington has no plan to "intervene" if South Korea moves forward with food aid.

But Moon's government has yet to decide on concrete plans amid growing public frustration over Kim's government, which recently resumed short-range missile tests that were apparently aimed at pressuring Washington and Seoul.

It is also unclear whether any aid package from South Korea would influence the behavior of North Korea, which has been demanding much bigger concessions from the South, such as resuming inter-Korean economic projects currently held back by the U.S.-led sanctions against the North. A North Korean propaganda website last week described the South Korean proposals for humanitarian aid as disrespectful and said Seoul was trying to sidestep fundamental issues with "hollow talk and boastful credit-taking."

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said last Wednesday that an average of 54.4 millimeters (2.1 inches) of rain fell in North Korea from January to early May, which it said was the lowest level since 1982. Two days later, the state-run Rodong Sinmun newspaper said the average precipitation of 56.3 millimeters (2.2 inches) from January to May 15 was the country's lowest since 1917.

U.N. food agencies said earlier this month that about 10 million people were facing "severe food shortages" after one of North Korea's worst harvests in a decade.

North Korean state media are urging farmers to do their best with what they have, to grow as much as possible this year. The Rodong Sinmun urged North Korean farmers on Saturday to meet state goals in food production in the face of "hostile forces who don't want us to become prosperous and ... are seeking to make our people undergo shortage of food, bring to collapse their faith in socialism."

"At our farm, we got an announcement about the dry weather conditions from our party and our state authorities, so we have taken advance measures to save water, like preparing the fields earlier than before, because we have to save water as much as we can," said Kim Chang Jun, vice chairman of a cooperative farm in the village of Sambong, just outside the capital.

The last time South Korea provided humanitarian aid to North Korea through an international agency was in 2015, when it gave $800,000 to a U.N. Population Fund project to evaluate North Korean public health conditions.

South Korea has not provided direct food aid to North Korea since 2010.

Moon's government first proposed providing $8 million to the WFP and UNICEF to help North Korean children and pregnant women in 2017, but the plans were halted amid a series of North Korean weapons tests that year. An abrupt turn toward diplomacy in 2018 saw Kim meet with Trump twice and three times with Moon. </s> Seoul [South Korea], May 21 (ANI): The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday granted sanctions exemption to allow the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) to carry out aid programs in North Korea to improve the health and nutrition of people in the impoverished country.

The exemption, granted on April 11, paves the way for UNICEF to import items to deliver safe water supplies to communities and enable effective treatment at hospitals, especially for malnourished children and mothers, the global humanitarian agency said in its report cited by Yonhap.

The approved items worth some USD 5.75 million in total include emergency health kits, wheelchairs and electronic devices, a document on the website showed, the report said.

The most expensive set of materials was vaccine cold chain equipment from Denmark worth USD 3.87 million. UNICEF said the items will be used to store vaccines for around 355,000 children under one year of age and 362,000 pregnant women, it added.

UNICEF further stated that its staff will conduct regular monitoring to ensure the goods are used for their intended purposes.

Including the latest approval, the total number of humanitarian exemptions related to North Korea currently in effect stands at 22. The exemptions are valid for six months.

Humanitarian activities are not banned under international sanctions, but related materials are subject to sanctions waivers from the UN.

Last week, Pyongyang said it was experiencing its worst drought in 37 years, raising fears that crops due to be harvested next month, like wheat and barley, will also suffer.

In addition, the World Food Programme, last month, assessed that the people in North Korea have been hit by the worst harvest in 10 years, due to dry spells, heatwaves and flooding.

The report also found worryingly low food consumption levels, limited dietary diversity and families being forced to cut meals or eat less. (ANI) </s> People gather to mark the occasion of the 23rd anniversary of the demise of the country's founding father Kim Il Sung in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang July 8, 2017. Source: Reuters/KCNA

NORTH Korea’s economy grew at its fastest pace in 17 years in 2016, South Korea’s central bank said on Friday, despite the isolated country facing international sanctions aimed at curbing its defiant pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in North Korea last year rose 3.9 percent from the previous year when the economy contracted due to a drought and low commodity prices, the Bank of Korea said. The expansion, driven by mining and energy, marked the biggest rise since a 6.1 percent gain in 1999.

North Korea, which counts China as its biggest trading partner, also boosted exports by 4.6 percent, the most since an 11.8 percent jump in 2013.

Still, the isolated state’s per capita gross national income in 2016 was just 1.5 million won (US$1,342), less than 5 percent of the comparable number in South Korea.

SEE ALSO: North Korea: Worst drought in 16 years threatens food supplies – UN



North Korea does not publish economic data. The Bank of Korea has released GDP data on North Korea every year since 1991 based on information from government agencies including South Korea’s Ministry of Unification and the National Intelligence Service. The estimate is widely used by international organisations and researchers.

North Korea has been under UN sanctions since 2006 over its ballistic missile and nuclear programmes and the Security Council has ratcheted up the measures in response to five nuclear tests and two long-range missile launches.

The robust economic growth may partly be due to the North’s active nuclear and missile development programme, as the manufacture of components is included when calculating GDP growth, according to Shin Seung-cheol, an official at the BOK.

Shin added North Korea had boosted electricity production in 2016 but could not confirm whether this was linked to missile manufacturing.

In February, China banned all imports of coal from its reclusive neighbour, cutting off its most important export. China is also restricting the flow of oil into the North.

The United States is mulling new sanctions on Chinese firms and bank doing business with Pyongyang on top of trying to get China and Russia to back a new UN Security Council resolution imposing stiffer sanctions on North Korea following its latest missile test.

SEE ALSO: US think tank says North Korea may have more nuclear bomb material than thought



In 2016, China accounted for 92.5 percent of all North Korean trade, according to data from the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) on Friday.

The North’s economy this year will “definitely” be impacted by China’s decision to ban all coal imports, said Kim Suk-jin, a research fellow at the state-run Korea Institute of National Unification (KINU).

“North Korea can bypass some sanctions but coal is critical for their economy and it is something that’s difficult to smuggle. Coal can be spotted easily when it’s being moved,” said Kim.

Lim Soo-ho, a research head at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, said that sanctions didn’t bite hard last year, as China loosened some of its earlier restrictions in the second half after South Korea decided to deploy a US anti-missile defense system.

“With expanding sanctions, there are more downside risks to its growth this year than last,” Lim said. “Pyongyang’s heavy industries and manufacturing sectors could be hit hard if China continues to cut fuel sales to North Korea.”

The Bank of Korea official declined to comment on how the Chinese coal ban and tightened international sanctions since last year would affect North Korea’s economy in 2017. The United Nations’ food agency said on Thursday North Korea is facing severe food shortages due to the worst drought since 2001.

Kim said it was too early to say whether North Korea’s crops will suffer, as the Korean Peninsula has seen much rain in recent weeks.

North Korea’s 2016 GDP in real terms stood at 32.0 trillion won (US$28.50 billion), according to the Bank of Korea data – a fraction of South Korea’s 1,508.3 trillion won (US$1.34 trillion).

Mining and manufacturing make up the biggest portion of North Korea’s industry, accounting last year for 33.2 percent of the sector.

SEE ALSO: North Korea doesn’t have ICBM re-entry technology, says South



Overall exports from North Korea, excluding trade with South Korea, rose 4.6 percent last year to US$2.82 billion thanks to shipments of fishery products, which soared 74.0 percent, the South’s central bank said.

North Korea imports rose 4.8 percent to US$3.73 billion, led by plant products and textiles.

Although trade between the two Koreas plunged 87.7 percent last year due to a shutdown of a joint industrial zone the North shared with the South just north of the border, the North’s headline trade numbers were barely affected, the data showed.

The Kaesong Industrial Zone was shut down early last year after the North tested a long-range rocket in February defying UN sanctions. – Reuters </s> SEOUL, May 21 (UPI) -- Unification Minister Kim Yeon Chul said Tuesday that South Korea and the United States are considering "various ways" to resume the stalled denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.

Speaking at a press briefing, Kim also stressed the importance of humanitarian aid to the impoverished North regardless of politics, citing a famous quote by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan that "a hungry child knows no politics."

"The overall situation shows that we are facing a lull, but I think you should know that we are working in various ways to resume negotiations," Kim told reporters. "South Korea and the United States are also sharing the need for keeping the situation under control."

Kim did not elaborate on the "various ways" under consideration to resume talks with Pyongyang.

Denuclearization talks have been stalled since the summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal in February as the two sides failed to find common ground over Pyongyang's denuclearization and Washington's sanctions relief.

South Korean President Moon Jae In earlier proposed holding an inter-Korean summit with Kim as part of efforts to break the logjam in cross-border relations and stalemated denuclearization negotiations. The North has been mum on the offer for about a month.

"Since it is important to resume negotiations from a broader perspective for our government, I would like to emphasize that we are also considering and collecting opinions internally on such issues," Kim said.

A high-ranking official suggested that Moon and Kim could meet in a setting similar to their second summit last May at the truce village of Panmunjom, which didn't involve much preparation for courtesy and formality.

"Given that the purpose of having a summit this time is to coordinate between the two Koreas so as to resume talks between North Korea and the United States, I think it would be more desirable to have a summit focusing more on substance than on formality," he said, adding that in that case there will be no need for a special envoy or high-level talks to prepare such a meeting.

With regard to the plan to provide humanitarian food assistance to North Korea, the unification minister emphasized that politics should not play a part in helping people in need.

"Humanitarian assistance does not carry a meaning more or less than just that. It is an internationally accepted agreement that [humanitarian assistance] should be approached separately from politics," he said.

Last week, South Korea announced a plan to donate US$8 million to international agencies, including the World Food Programme, to help address malnutrition and health problems facing pregnant women and kids in the North.

The government also said that it will draw up plans to provide humanitarian food assistance to ease food shortages in North Korea, apparently aggravated by global sanctions and unfavorable weather conditions, despite North Korea's recent missile firings.

The WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization recently reported that the country's crop output last year hit the lowest level since 2008, adding that an estimated 10 million people, or about 40 percent of its population, are in urgent need of food.

North Korea has yet to respond officially to Seoul's food assistance plan. </s> Image copyright AFP Image caption Pyongyang has seen record temperatures

North Korea says a heatwave is threatening a "natural disaster" and has called on its citizens to help protect crops from drought.

The Korean peninsula is experiencing record temperatures and South Korea has reported 28 deaths from the heat.

In the North, which has previously suffered bouts of famine, state media warned that key crops such as rice and corn were under threat.

It called on citizens to "join the struggle" to safeguard harvests.

"This year's high temperature is an unprecedented natural disaster but it is not an insurmountable difficulty," it said.

"Officials and working people in all fields and units... should turn out as one and devotedly work out of patriotism in the campaign to prevent damage by high temperature and drought," an editorial in the state-run newspaper Rodong said.

"All people should fully display their patriotic zeal in the ongoing campaign."

State news agency KCNA said irrigation equipment was being urgently repaired and new wells and reservoirs created.

"Myriads of water carriers, tractors, trucks and other vehicles have been involved in irrigating croplands together with all the available watering equipment and devices," it said.

Image copyright Reuters Image caption North Korea leader Kim Jong-un was pictured inspecting a farm in July

Temperatures in the capital Pyongyang hit a record high of 37.8C (100F) on Wednesday. The South's capital, Seoul, also recently recorded its hottest ever temperature at 39C.

Earlier this year, the head of the UN's World Food Programme made a rare visit to North Korea and said the country was working hard to meet nutritional standards.

David Beasley spent two days in the capital, Pyongyang, and two outside it, accompanied by government minders.

He said levels of hunger were not as high as in the 1990s. Hundreds of thousands of people are believed to have died in a widespread famine in the North between 1994 and 1998.

"I didn't see starvation like you had in the famine back in the 1990s, that's the good news. But is there a hunger issue, is there under-nutrition? There's no question about it," he told the BBC.

After a drought in 2017, the UN said seven in 10 North Koreans were relying on food aid, while four in 10 were malnourished.

North Korea is under strict UN sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, despite a recent diplomatic rapprochement with the US.

Decades of state mismanagement and a lack of infrastructure have left the country vulnerable to natural disasters such as floods and drought.
South Korea vows to send humanitarian aid to North Korea through international organizations as it suffers droughts.