May19,2003
May 19, 2003
Ministry of Unification
South Korea will provide North Korea with 200,000 tons of fertilizer to help enhance agricultural productivity and ease the North's chronic food shortage.
The government's Inter-Korean Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council approved in a meeting May 16 the use of the inter-Korean cooperation fund for the fertilizer support.
Its decision was based on humanitarian grounds after North Korea asked for fertilizers in a telephone message on April 17 and through the 10th inter-Korean ministerial meeting held in Pyongyang April 27-29.
The first batch of fertilizer, including 128,000 tons of composite fertilizer and 28,000 tons of urea, will be shipped later this month through the (South) Korean Red Cross. It will take about 40 days to complete the shipment.
The total cost of the donation, including the goods and shipping expenses, will be about 65 billion won ($55 million).
