Seoul
\nSouth Korea said Friday it had received no response after trying to contact the North to offer humanitarian aid following reports of deaths and heavy damage caused by recent flooding.
\nSeoul\u2019s unification ministry said in a statement Thursday that it was willing to \u201curgently provide\u201d humanitarian assistance to \u201cNorth Korean disaster victims\u201d impacted by the downpours.
\nThe ministry attempted to contact the North to make an offer of aid via the Koreas\u2019 liaison office communication channel, but Pyongyang has not responded, Seoul said Friday.
\n\u201cWe will not make assumptions about the situation and look forward to a prompt response (from the North) to our proposal,\u201d Kim In-ae, the deputy spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters.
\nNorth Korea said earlier this week that a \u201crecord downpour\u201d hit its northern border areas near China, resulting in \u201ca grave crisis in which more than 5,000 inhabitants were isolated in the zone vulnerable to flooding.\u201d
\nOn Wednesday, Pyongyang said many \u201cpublic buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4,100 dwelling houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands\u201d were flooded in its northern regions of Sinuiju and Uiju.
\nThat same day, North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un \u201cproposed to strictly punish\u201d officials who neglected their disaster prevention duties, which had caused unspecified deaths or injuries \u201cthat can not be allowed.\u201d
\nA report by South Korea\u2019s TV Chosun said hundreds of people could have been killed.
\nKim has been shown in multiple videos this week traversing flood waters in a rubber boat, overseeing rescue operations involving military helicopters.
\nNatural disasters tend to have a greater impact on the isolated and impoverished North due to its weak infrastructure, while deforestation has left it vulnerable to flooding.
\nRelations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North bolstering military ties with Russia while sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South.
\nIn response, Seoul\u2019s military blasts K-pop and anti-regime messages from border loudspeakers and recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.
\nDespite the heightened tensions on the peninsula, South Korea\u2019s unification ministry on Thursday expressed \u201cdeep sympathy\u201d for the flood victims in the North.
\nSeoul\u2019s foreign ministry also issued a separate statement Friday, extending its \u201cdeep condolences\u201d to the North Koreans who have been \u201caffected by the recent heavy rainfall.\u201d
\nSouth Korea has \u201cconsistently maintained the position that it will continue humanitarian assistance to North Korea,\u201d regardless of the \u201cpolitical and military situation,\u201d the foreign ministry added.
\nPyongyang unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links with Seoul in 2020 and blew up a disused inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border.
\nThe inter-Korean liaison office channel was restored in 2021, but the North has not been responding to the hotline calls since April 2023.
\nDespite the North\u2019s lack of response, Seoul has been attempting to communicate with the North through the channel twice daily, every day, according to the unification ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Seoul South Korea said Friday it had received no response after trying to contact the North to offer humanitarian aid following reports of deaths and heavy damage caused by recent flooding. Seoul\u2019s unification ministry said in a statement Thursday that it was willing to \u201curgently provide\u201d humanitarian assistance to \u201cNorth Korean disaster victims\u201d impacted by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":422520,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-422508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n