The South Korean government has decided to suspend a scheduled shipment of its emergency relief aid to North Korea due to the communist state's announcement that it conducted a nuclear test, an official from the Unification Ministry said Monday.
"A ship was scheduled to depart from (South Korea's) Donghae port, carrying 4,000 tons of concrete on Tuesday, but we decided to delay the shipment under the current circumstances," the official told Yonhap News Agency, requesting anonymity.
The decision follows the North's announcement earlier in the day that it has successfully conducted the test.
The official, however, said the decision does not immediately affect all scheduled shipments of humanitarian assistance, but said such a decision was possible.
"We may be able to use other expressions, such as 'suspended' or 'halted,' once the government decision comes out, but it would be appropriate to say for now that (the shipment) has been delayed," the official said.
The shipment was to be part of Seoul's one-time humanitarian aid to the impoverished North, which was ravaged by heavy rains in July that left hundreds of people dead or missing and thousands of others injured and displaced.
Seoul pledged to provide some 240 billion won (US$250 million) worth of aid, including 100,000 tons of rice and 100,000 tons of concrete, to the communist state despite its earlier decision to freeze its regular humanitarian assistance for the impoverished country following the North's launching of seven ballistic missiles on July 5.
Nearly 90,000 tons of rice and some 30,000 tons of concrete have already been shipped to the communist state as of Monday, according to the Unification Ministry official.
A spokesman for the Unification Ministry later said the ministry would "sternly deal" with the North's nuclear test, but said it has yet to decide whether to suspend the emergency relief aid.
"(The government) is reviewing its options regarding the flood relief aid, and that is all I can say for now," ministry spokesman Yang Chang-seok told reporters.
The South Korean government strongly denounced the North's nuclear test, calling it an "unpardonable provocation." But it has yet to announce any concrete measures on how to retaliate or prevent further provocation.
The ministry spokesman said halting or suspending all exchanges with the communist North was one of the available options, but said such a decision would only be made after careful consideration and consultation with political and opinion leaders, as well as with the international community.
"Because the North Korean nuclear test places us under a wholly different situation and because there are moves by the international community (to retaliate), the government believes it needs to make its decision after listening to their opinions," Yang said.
Seoul had previously refused to suspend its joint economic projects with the communist state, claiming the business projects are run by private firms and that they have nothing to do with the North's nuclear or other weapons programs.
Hyundai Asan, the South Korean developer of a tourist resort in North Korea's Mount Geumgang, said it has no immediate plans to scrap its tour programs until told to do so by the government.
"We have yet to hear from the government, so the program will be maintained for the time being," an official at the company's public relations office said, requesting anonymity.
A group of 505 South Koreans were to travel to the North Korean mountain resort at 3 p.m. Monday, according to the company official.
"Originally, 538 were to travel on a three-day schedule from this (Monday) afternoon, but 27 didn't show up and six cancelled the trip on the spot," the official said.
The number of South Korean tourists staying at the North's mountain resort was expected to reach some 1,800 after the group of 505 arrive there later in the day, according to the official.
The company also maintains a workforce of 899 employees, consisting of 211 South Korean employees and 688 Korean-Chinese workers, the official said.
The South Korean company is also jointly developing an industrial complex with the South Korean and North Korean governments in the North's border town of Kaesong.
About 40 South Korean firms have decided to move into the joint industrial complex while 15 of them are already operating factories there, employing some 8,700 North Korean workers as of the end of August, according to the Unification Ministry.
About US$600,000 is paid every month in cash to North Korean authorities at the joint industrial complex in wages for the North Korean workers there, according to the ministry.
Seoul, Oct. 9 (Yonhap News)
Seoul suspends scheduled shipment of flood aid to N. Korea: official |
