North Korea asks South for flood aid despite tensions

Word of the communication between the two Koreas on aid came a day after the North announced it would release the crew of a seized South Korean fishing boat, in a sign that the divided countries may be talking behind the scenes in what could lead to a resumption of formal talks.

Tensions between the two countries, which are still technically in a state of war, have been exceptionally high in recent months following the sinking of a South Korean warship that Seoul blamed on Pyongyang. North Korea denies the charge and has threatened retaliation if it is punished.

But South Korea has in the past served as a lifeline to the desperately poor North, which struggles to feed many of its 24 million people in the best of times.

An overflowing river last month swamped farmland, houses and public buildings in the North's northwestern city of Sinuiju and adjacent areas. State media reported that the region was “severely affected” by the flooding, though details of the damage remain unknown. North Korea observers fear the flooding has worsened the country's chronic food shortages.

Last week, South Korea's Red Cross sent a message to its North Korean counterpart and proposed sending medicine, daily necessities and emergency food worth 10 billion won (US$8.5 million).

The North's Red Cross replied on Saturday that it would prefer rice, cement and heavy equipment — items it said were necessary for flood recovery efforts, according to Seoul's Unification Ministry and Red Cross.

South Korea was reviewing the North's request, the Unification Ministry said in a statement Tuesday. North Korea's secretive communist regime has not confirmed making the request and its state-run media have not mentioned it.

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