The Unification Ministry has flagged a plan by the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea to provide assistance to the flood-stricken North as inappropriate.
 
Ministry Spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said at a briefing on Wednesday that providing flood relief to the North via an international organization does not go against exchange and cooperation laws. However, Jeong said that the NGO council needs to ask itself whether its plan is appropriate when considering the North’s two-faced attitude. The spokesman emphasized that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was spotted smiling at a test site for rocket engines while state media unveiled that it had suffered the worst flood damage since Korea’s independence from Japan’s colonial rule.
 
The council is made up of 59 private South Korean groups dedicated to providing aid to the North. The organization had earlier requested a government permission to hold contacts with North Korean officials at a third country from Monday to consult about ways to help the North deal with the flood damage.
 
The ministry denied the request on Tuesday. In response, the council said it will seek to provide aid to the North through international organizations.