24 September,2016 09:16 AM IST | | Agencies
South Korea yesterday ruled out giving aid to flood-hit North Korea, saying leader Kim Jong-Un would claim credit for any assistance following what Pyongyang calls the worst disaster since World War II
Seoul: South Korea yesterday ruled out giving aid to flood-hit North Korea, saying leader Kim Jong-Un would claim credit for any assistance following what Pyongyang calls the "worst disaster" since World War II.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) appealed Wednesday for $15.5 million in emergency funding to help North Koreans. It warned of a "secondary disaster" in the impoverished country unless urgent assistance is provided.
At least 138 people are known to have died and nearly 400 are missing after torrential rain triggered major floods.
If Seoul gave any help, "Kim Jong-Un would take all undue credit for it," Unification Ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-Hee told journalists. "Under these circumstances, I cannot shed the feeling that outside aid would be all in vain," he said about the appeals for aid.
"While the North claimed it had suffered from the worst-ever disaster (since the end of World War II), Kim Jong-Un was breaking into big smiles at a rocket engine test site," Jeong said on Wednesday.
