Red Cross officials from South and North Korea will meet this weekend to discuss the South's aid to the flood-hit North, the Unification Ministry said Thursday.
The North's Red Cross Society said in a telephone message earlier in the day that it accepts the South's earlier proposal to hold a working-level meeting at the North's Mount Geumgang on the east coast on Saturday, Yang Chang-seok, a spokesman for the ministry, said.
On Monday, the South's Korea National Red Cross (KNRC) made a proposal to its North Korean counterpart to discuss its plan to donate food and other materials to help recovery efforts by North Korean victims of floods last month.
Three delegates from each side will attend the meeting, the spokesman said.
North Korea has made no announcement on its flood damages, but international aid workers in the North had said torrential rains in mid-July left several hundred people dead or missing, with estimated damage to 100,000 tons of crops.
Pyongyang initially refused Seoul's offer to provide aid, but retracted the position later. Last week, the government decided to indirectly donate 10 billion won (US$10.3 million) worth of aid to North Korea via civic organizations and rice and construction machinery through the KNRC.
Seoul, Aug. 17 (Yonhap News)
South, North Korea to hold Red Cross talks to discuss aid to N.K. flood victims |
