A recent delivery of 300 tons of aid to North Korea was distributed correctly to its intended recipients according to the Ministry of Unification in Seoul. A number of ministry officials have just returned from a monitoring trip to the country.
The group of five officials including the section head in charge of humanitarian aid, Cho Jung Hun, observed the distribution of part of a 300 ton delivery of wheat flour to Chongju, a town in the southwest of North Pyongan Province.
The group visited three locations; Namcheol Kindergarten, Dongmun Orphanage and the February 16th Smelter Kindergarten, to check on the distribution and storage of the aid flour. They were able to confirm both the offering of the flour to its intended recipients, and that the recipients were aware that it came from South Korea.
Ministry spokesperson Park Su Jin told reporters this lunchtime, “There is meaning in this monitoring of private aid in that it allowed us to understand the reality of aid from the South on the ground. The government will continue to try and ensure the transparency of aid distribution going forward.”
Given the apparent success of the aid mission, it is presumed that the government will allow further private aid deliveries in the near future, and is likely to continue with the same monitoring efforts.
The same organization which sent the 300 tons of flour, Ambassadors for Peace, has applied for permission to deliver a further 300 tons of aid, and is awaiting approval to begin the process.
