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South Korea to provide $6,3 million humanitarian aid for North Korean children

The assistance can help reduce illnesses and stunted growth in North Korean children in inadequate public health conditions

SEOUL, September 27 (Itar-Tass) - South Korea will send to North Korea humanitarian aid for the country’s sick children, the South Korean Unification Ministry, supervising the whole spectrum of inter-Korean relations, reported on Friday.

South Korea will give 6.3 million US dollars in aid to help North Korean children with illnesses and stunted growth, the country’s government said Friday. The Ministry of Unification said the South and North Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council approved the spending of the state-managed inter-Korea cooperation fund. The money will be sent to the United Nations World Health Organisation (WHO), which will help distribute the aid in the North, the Yonhap news agency reported.

“The assistance can help reduce illnesses and stunted growth in North Korean children in inadequate public health conditions,” said ministry spokeswoman Park Soo-jin. The latest move to provide aid comes as Seoul has made clear that it will continue providing humanitarian support to disadvantaged people in the North, like children and pregnant women, regardless of political or military developments taking place on the Korean Peninsula. Inter-Korean relations that improved with the reopening of the Kaesong Industrial earlier this month have cooled off after Pyongyang last week abruptly postponed reunions event for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

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