2007年VOA标准英语-S. Korea Promises Flood-Hit North $40 Million i

South Korea has announced another aid package for North Korea following reports of serious flood damage there. After sending more immediately needed items like water and noodles, Seoul says it will now send heavy materials needed to rebuild the North's flooded infrastructure¹. VOA  Correspondent Kurt Achin reports from Seoul.

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said Thursday the new aid package amounts to nearly $40 million worth of heavy construction implements². He says South Korean officials decided³ to send cement, iron bars, trucks, fuel, and road paving materials to the North at the soonest possible opportunity.

The announcement comes a day after South Korea transported about $7 million worth of emergency supplies across the border, such as blankets, drinking water, and easy-to-prepare foods.

Photo distributed by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency, shows destruction caused by floods in Kangwon, North Korea

North Korea cited flooding as its reason for postponing⁵ a summit with South Korea that would have taken place this week. The meeting is now set for the beginning of October.

Members of South Korea's main opposition⁶ party, the conservative GNP, have been critical of the timing⁷ of the summit, just two months before presidential elections.

Unification Minister Lee dismissed accusations⁸ of summit politics, saying the broader picture of North-South relations is more important. He says South Korea's goal is peace on the Korean peninsula, and economic cooperation is one of the best ways to achieve that goal, because it creates hope in the North.

Lee says the South Korean building materials should all be in place in North Korea by the end of next month.