In Seoul, it was noted that in June 2019, the South Korean government decided to deliver 50,000 tonnes of rice to Pyongyang through the UN World Food Programme, but the DPRK refused to accept aid
The Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Korea is negotiating with the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations on the return of funds for the DPRK’s humanitarian aid project. This was announced by the Ministry’s spokesman Yo-Sang Gi at a briefing for journalists in Seoul on Monday.
He noted that in June 2019, the South Korean government decided to deliver 50,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang through the WFP, allocating $11.6 million to cover the cost of transporting the cargo and controlling its distribution. However, DPRK refused to accept aid in protest against the joint South Korean-American military exercises.
“It is expected that the funds will be returned by the end of this year”, – said Yeo Sang-gi.
Earlier in 2020, the DPRK ignored South Korea’s offers to help it. The DPRK’s media regularly publish materials emphasizing that the country will not resort to external assistance from other countries and will cope with difficulties such as a pandemic and typhoon management. At the same time, DPRK authorities claim that no cases of coronavirus infection have been reported in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.