South Korea’s Red Cross on Thursday proposed providing humanitarian aid to North Korea over damage from the recent downpours in its northern border areas along the Amnok River, as the North is believed to have sustained huge casualties.

The Korean Red Cross said it is willing to urgently support the North Korean flood victims with the necessary supplies from a humanitarian and fraternal perspective.

“We are ready to discuss the items, scale and method of support with our North Korean counterpart. We expect North Korea’s swift response,” it said.

North Korea’s border city of Sinuiju and Uiju County in the northwestern province of North Pyongan were pummeled by heavy rains, with more than 4,100 houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmland left submerged, according to the North’s state media.

The North did not disclose details about casualties, but the unification ministry said North Korea may have sustained “considerable” casualties amid a news report that the number of those who died or went missing probab
ly exceeded around 1,000.

The latest aid proposal came despite heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s continued provocative acts and its increased animosity toward South Korea.

The government has said it is ready to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea regardless of the political and security situation on the peninsula.

But it remains uncertain whether North Korea would accept the aid proposal.

Source: Yonhap News Agency