South Korea announced today to provide 37.4 billion won (US$40 million)
worth of cement and heavy equipment in extra aid to help the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) recover from flood damage.
"At a meeting of relevant ministers presided over by the prime minister, we
decided to give cement, iron bars, trucks, fuel, road restoration equipment and
pitch to North Korea at the earliest possible time," said Unification Minister
Lee Jea-joung at a news briefing.
South Korea will begin to deliver the assistance from mid-September, Lee
said, adding that the aid will consist of 100,000 tons of cement, 5,000 tons of
iron bars, 80 trucks, 500 tons of gasoline, 20 road restoration vehicles and
20,000 tons of pitch.
The decision comes a day after South Korea made the first delivery of 7.1
billion won (7.5 million dollars) worth of emergency assistance to DPRK as flood
relief aid.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), DPRK's official news
agency, heavy downpours hit the DPRK's capital city and six of the country's
nine provinces on Aug. 4, leaving more than 46,580 houses destroyed or damaged,
and over 300,000 people affected.
