By Kang Seung-woo
Opposition parties are increasing calls for the government to provide aid to flood-stricken North Korea.
They claim the government should prioritize humanitarian needs of North Koreans, but the administration remains adamant against providing aid, citing the international community’s move toward fresh sanctions for the North’s fifth nuclear test, Sept. 9.
Severe flooding in the country’s northernmost province of North Hamgyong Province ― affected by the heaviest rains since 1945 ― has left 138 people dead, 400 missing and at least 140,000 in immediate need of assistance, including 69,000 who have been forced to leave their homes, according to the United Nations.
“It is desirable to provide relief for the North Korean flood victims on humanitarian grounds,” said Rep. Park Jie-won, the floor leader of the second-largest opposition People’s Party, on his social network service (SNS) account, Tuesday.
“Although we cannot accept the North’s fifth nuclear test, it is a sin to turn our back on North Koreans in urgent need of aid.”
Rep. Woo Sang-ho, the floor leader of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea, also said Monday that the government should separate humanitarian aid from the nuclear test.
“There was inter-Korean flood aid in the past ― even during times of heightened tension,” he said.
“As part of an effort for inter-Korean rapprochement, the government should provide assistance to the North.”
Justice Party Chairwoman Rep. Sim Sang-jeung also stressed that humanitarian support should be placed above political consideration as an act of human decency.
However, the unification ministry made it clear that South Korea is not considering helping Pyongyang recover from the flood damage, citing the ongoing tension, sparked by the nuclear test.
“Even if North Korea appeals for help, we do not think the possibility is high for assistance to be given under the current situation,” ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee told a briefing, Monday.
He said that the Kim Jong-un regime should focus on rehabilitation efforts for the livelihood of its people rather than spending money on its nuclear development program.
The ruling Saenuri Party supports the government’s stance. Its floor leader Rep. Chung Jin-suk said the international community can only help the North when it ends its nuclear and missile provocations.
A South Korean civic group asked the government in early September to approve its plan to contact North Korean officials in a third country in a bid to provide assistance for the flood damage.
Since the North’s fourth nuclear test in January, the government has banned inter-Korean exchanges at a non-government level and South Korean citizens’ trips to the North.
Seoul is concerned that its humanitarian aid may end up being diverted to the North Korean government and the development of its nuclear weapons program.
Observers say the government’s hard-line stance runs counter to President Park Geun-hye’s Liberation Day speech stressing that South Korea “will not turn a blind eye to the plight of North Korean residents who suffer because of the wrong decisions made by the authorities there.”
While the South remains lukewarm in its support for the North, international aid agencies are stepping up efforts to help the country.
The United Nations (U.N.) World Food Program delivered food assistance, including fortified biscuits and soybeans, to more than 140,000 people and it has also asked for $1.2 million (1.3 billion won) to provide supplies for children and women.
In addition, other international aid agencies in North Korea also called for $28.2 million to assist North Koreans.
“It is the established norm that humanitarian aid should be separated from political conditions ― even during times of war,” said Chang Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University.
“That is why the latest U.N. sanctions on the North ― Resolution 2270 ― have humanitarian exemptions.”
Chang said that if the government is worried that its aid may be misused, it can use international humanitarian agencies in North Korea.