韓国、北朝鮮の洪水に人道支援提案も返答なし

【ソウルＡＦＰ＝時事】韓国は２日、北朝鮮で死者を伴う大規模な洪水が発生したとの報道を受け、人道支援を提供するために北朝鮮側に連絡を試みたものの、現時点で返答がないと明かした。（写真は、洪水に見舞われた平安北道の新義州市を視察する金正恩朝鮮労働党総書記〈左〉。朝鮮中央通信〈ＫＣＮＡ〉公開）
　韓国統一省は１日、豪雨の影響を受けた「北朝鮮の被災者」に対して、人道支援を「至急提供」する用意があると発表した。
　韓国政府は２日、統一省が、支援提供を打診するために南北連絡事務所の通信チャンネルを通じて連絡を試みたが、北朝鮮政府からの応答がなかったと明かした。
　同省の報道官は記者らに「状況についての推測はせず、われわれの提案への（北朝鮮からの）迅速な回答を期待している」と話した。
　北朝鮮は今週、中国に近い北部国境地域で７月２７日に「記録的豪雨」が発生し、「５０００人以上の住民が浸水しやすい地域で孤立するという深刻な危機」にあると発表した。
　韓国のＴＶ朝鮮によると、数百人が死亡した可能性があるという。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/08/02-20:47）

South Korea said Friday it had received no response after trying to contact the North to offer humanitarian aid following reports of deaths and heavy damage caused by recent flooding.
Seoul's unification ministry said in a statement Thursday that it was willing to urgently provide humanitarian assistance to North Korean disaster victims impacted by the downpours.
The ministry attempted to contact the North to make an offer of aid via the Koreas' liaison office communication channel, but Pyongyang has not responded, Seoul said Friday.
We will not make assumptions about the situation and look forward to a prompt response (from the North) to our proposal, Kim In-ae, the deputy spokesperson for the ministry, told reporters.
North Korea said earlier this week that a record downpour hit its northern border areas near China, resulting in a grave crisis in which more than 5,000 inhabitants were isolated in the zone vulnerable to flooding.
On Wednesday, Pyongyang said many public buildings, facilities, roads and railways, including more than 4,100 dwelling houses and nearly 3,000 hectares of farmlands were flooded in its northern regions of Sinuiju and Uiju.
That same day, North Korean state media said leader Kim Jong Un proposed to strictly punish officials who neglected their disaster prevention duties, which had caused unspecified deaths or injuries that can not be allowed.
A report by South Korea's TV Chosun said hundreds of people could have been killed.
Kim has been shown in multiple videos this week traversing flood waters in a rubber boat, overseeing rescue operations involving military helicopters.
Natural disasters tend to have a greater impact on the isolated and impoverished North due to its weak infrastructure, while deforestation has left it vulnerable to flooding.
- 'Deep condolences' -
Relations between the two Koreas are at one of their lowest points in years, with the North bolstering military ties with Russia while sending thousands of trash-carrying balloons to the South.
In response, Seoul's military blasts K-pop and anti-regime messages from border loudspeakers and recently resumed live-fire drills on border islands and near the demilitarised zone that divides the Korean peninsula.
Despite the heightened tensions on the peninsula, South Korea's unification ministry on Thursday expressed deep sympathy for the flood victims in the North.
Seoul's foreign ministry also issued a separate statement Friday, extending its deep condolences to the North Koreans who have been affected by the recent heavy rainfall.
South Korea has consistently maintained the position that it will continue humanitarian assistance to North Korea, regardless of the political and military situation, the foreign ministry added.
Pyongyang unilaterally cut off all official military and political communication links with Seoul in 2020 and blew up a disused inter-Korean liaison office on its side of the border.
The inter-Korean liaison office channel was restored in 2021, but the North has not been responding to the hotline calls since April 2023.
Despite the North's lack of response, Seoul has been attempting to communicate with the North through the channel twice daily, every day, according to the unification ministry.