Seoul increases N Korea flood aid

On Thursday, Seoul sent an initial aid convoy to North Korea

South Korea has announced a new relief package for North Korea to help it recover from devastating floods.

It will send aid worth almost $40m (£20m) to its impoverished neighbour, in addition to $7.5m it pledged in the immediate aftermath of the floods.

Seoul will ship the aid - cement, trucks and construction materials - from September, officials said.

North Korea says about 300 people died in the floods, the worst in the communist nation for several years.

Some 300,000 people were left homeless, and aid workers have reported widespread damage to roads, buildings and infrastructure.

Large swathes of farmland have been also destroyed, and North Korea says an estimated 11% of the annual grain harvest has been lost.

Construction goods

South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said that the additional aid came in response to a request from the North.

The flooding followed days of torrential rain in North Korea

"North Korea is having difficulties recovering from the floods because of the shortage of construction equipment and materials," he said at a briefing.

Ministers had decided to send cement, iron bars, trucks, fuel and road restoration equipment to North Korea at the earliest possible time, he said.

On Thursday, South Korea delivered its first consignment of emergency relief aid to its northern neighbour.

Forty trucks laden with food, drinking water and blankets were driven to the town of Kaesong on the border between the two nations.

Leaders of the two Koreas are scheduled to hold only their second summit in October.

The summit had been due to take place at the end of this month, but was postponed by North Korea because of the floods.

International aid agencies are also working to assist North Korea.

The Red Cross has launched a global appeal for $5.5m, while the UN's World Food Programme has announced plans to provide food aid for more than 200,000 people.