Aid to North Korea increased dramatically this year, even though there has been little official contact between the two Koreas.
According to figures released Friday by Seoul’s Unification Ministry, which handles North Korean issues, the South Korean government has shipped about $100 million in fertilizer and corn to the North this year. That’s almost double the amount of aid Seoul sent to Pyongyang last year, a ministry spokesman said.
Private aid this year has amounted to more than $30 million, four times the amount given last year, the spokesman said.
Aid from international organizations such as the U.N. World Food and World Health Programs also increased. Those organizations have sent about $188 million in food and medicine to the North, well above the $59 million they provided last year.
Even though humanitarian aid has increased, Pyongyang refuses to reopen talks with the South. Pyongyang broke off contact with Seoul in March, expressing anger over what it calls a harder line adopted toward it by the Bush administration.
North Korea requested the Seoul-government aid before halting discussions earlier this year.
In addition to humanitarian aid, North Korea also receives funds for fuel deliveries under a contractural requirement in a 1994 nuclear agreement. Under the agreement, the United States promised to deliver 500,000 metric tons of fuel annually to help North Korea meet its energy needs while the country makes a transition to light-water nuclear reactors.
On Thursday, President Bush authorized the release of $20 million for fuel deliveries to the North. The $20 million had been set aside for another purpose, but Bush used his authority to commit the funds for the fuel deliveries, officials said.