North Korea's proposal for private flood support also went unresponsive...End of contact period soon

Most of the contact period with North Korea, which was allowed by the government by private organizations seeking to provide flood aid to North Korea, ends this weekend, but no group has yet received a response from the North.

According to the data received by Hong Ki-won of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, from the Ministry of Unification, nine out of 10 private organizations that have been approved for contact with North Korea to support flood damage will end on the 29th.

The Ministry of Unification granted a one-month contact period when it accepted a report from a private group that said it would contact North Korea to help it recover from flood damage in late July.

Despite the imminent expiration of the contact period, no group has received any response from the North, and North Korea has remained unresponsive to the government's offer of flood aid through the Korean Red Cross.

In a related development, a Unification Ministry official told reporters today, "If there is a request for an extension of the contact period from a civilian organization, it will be considered," but added, "I think a month is enough time to confirm North Korea's intention."