ID :
87956
Thu, 11/05/2009 - 09:30
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/87956
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S. Korea's Red Cross to collect medicine donations for N. Korea aid
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Red Cross received pledges by local pharmaceutical companies on Wednesday to donate medical aid to North Korea as part of humanitarian assistance expected to be shipped within weeks.
The medical aid was part of an offer the government made to North Korea on Oct.
26, along with 10,000 tons of corn and 20 tons of powdered milk. The small-scale
assistance, when delivered, will be the first state-level aid to the North in
nearly two years.
Red Cross chief Yoo Chong-ha met with 14 representatives from pharmaceutical
firms and asked for their donations of medicine. All the participants pledged to
extend help, the Red Cross office said.
Citing a rare request for aid that North Korea's Red Cross has presented, Yoo
said "the health conditions of North Korean children and pregnant women really
need medical aid," asking the pharmaceutical companies to help with the
"non-political" assistance.
North Korea requested aid from Seoul during inter-Korean Red Cross talks, which
were to arrange reunions for separated families, in early October. The South
Korean Red Cross said it will seek more donations from about 80 other
pharmaceutical firms in the country that did not participate in the meeting.
North Korea's Red Cross had previously asked for mostly antibiotics, nutrients
and fluids to help operate its hospitals in Pyongyang. Similar medical supplies
worth 14.2 billion won (US$12 million) were sent between 2004 and 2008.
The South Korean Red Cross will also receive donations of powdered milk from
non-governmental organizations. Only the corn aid will be purchased with funds
from the Unification Ministry's inter-Korean cooperation budget.
The conservative Lee Myung-bak government halted state-level aid to North Korea
as it came to power last year, conditioning inter-Korean exchanges on progress
toward Pyongyang's denuclearization.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Red Cross received pledges by local pharmaceutical companies on Wednesday to donate medical aid to North Korea as part of humanitarian assistance expected to be shipped within weeks.
The medical aid was part of an offer the government made to North Korea on Oct.
26, along with 10,000 tons of corn and 20 tons of powdered milk. The small-scale
assistance, when delivered, will be the first state-level aid to the North in
nearly two years.
Red Cross chief Yoo Chong-ha met with 14 representatives from pharmaceutical
firms and asked for their donations of medicine. All the participants pledged to
extend help, the Red Cross office said.
Citing a rare request for aid that North Korea's Red Cross has presented, Yoo
said "the health conditions of North Korean children and pregnant women really
need medical aid," asking the pharmaceutical companies to help with the
"non-political" assistance.
North Korea requested aid from Seoul during inter-Korean Red Cross talks, which
were to arrange reunions for separated families, in early October. The South
Korean Red Cross said it will seek more donations from about 80 other
pharmaceutical firms in the country that did not participate in the meeting.
North Korea's Red Cross had previously asked for mostly antibiotics, nutrients
and fluids to help operate its hospitals in Pyongyang. Similar medical supplies
worth 14.2 billion won (US$12 million) were sent between 2004 and 2008.
The South Korean Red Cross will also receive donations of powdered milk from
non-governmental organizations. Only the corn aid will be purchased with funds
from the Unification Ministry's inter-Korean cooperation budget.
The conservative Lee Myung-bak government halted state-level aid to North Korea
as it came to power last year, conditioning inter-Korean exchanges on progress
toward Pyongyang's denuclearization.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
