Seoul to help flood-ravaged North Korea

SEOUL — South Korea said today that it would provide a large amount of aid to North Korea after devastating floods in the impoverished country.

It initially will provide $7.5 million in relief supplies, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung told reporters.

The North has said the floods from a week of heavy rains have wiped out more than one-tenth of its farmland, which is expected to create further food shortages in the country that already relies on foreign aid.

Lee said the government would try to start shipping supplies early next week, including instant noodles, drinking water, blankets and medicine.

Leaders of the two Koreas are also to meet in Pyongyang, the North’s capital, this month for only the second summit since the peninsula was divided, with aid expected to be a key topic of discussion.