Completion of the shipment of 400,000 tons of loan-based Food aid to North Korea for 2007
Completion of the shipment of 400,000 tons of loan-based Food aid to North
Korea for 2007
The South Korean government sent 37th shipment of its
rice aid from Busan to Chungjin on Dec. 5, completing its delivery of 400,000
tons of rice aid to North Korea.
Since the first shipment of rice assistance
on June, 30 from South Korean port city of Gunsan to North Korean port city
of Nampo according to the Agreement on the Provision of Loan-based Food Aid
between the South and the North signed on April 22, the Sout has completed its
shipment of food assistance over the course of five months. It used land route
to deliver 50,000 tons of locally produced rice from Jul. 20 to Aug. 24, and
sea route to send 350,000 tons of both overseas- and locally-produced rice from
Jun. 30 to Dec. 5.
Under the Agreement on the Provision of Loan-based
Food Aid between the South and the North, the two Koreas agreed to send
400,000
tons of rice aid: 150,000 tons of locally produced rice and 250,000 tons of
overseas produced one.
As three to five people took part in each shipment,
a total of 293 people including government authorities and civilian experts
participated in the whole delivery process.
In addition, the South
Korean government, under the inter-Korean agreement, conducted four rounds of
monitoring on food
distribution sites in North Korea during the provision
of loan-based food aid. A total of 20 food distribution sites were monitored;
three spots in the East Coast and two spots in the West Coast for each shipment.
Visits to Food Distribution Sites
During 1st shipment: Gaeseong,
Goseung (Oct. 16)
During 2nd shipment: Haeju (Oct. 30), Hamheung (Oct. 27)
During 3rd shipment: Wonsan (Nov. 16), Nampo (Nov. 19)
During 4th shipment:
Nampo (Nov. 28), Chungjin (Dec. 8)
The South Korean government hopes
that the loan-based food assistance will help improve the food situation in
North Korea in a
substantial manner.
Spokesperson for the Unification
Ministry
