Reclusive NKorea reaches out for UN, international aid

SEOUL (AP) - Reclusive North Korea is opening up to widespread international aid after devastating floods, and the main U.N. food agency said it will start distributing emergency food to thousands of victims.

Letting in aid under the World Food Program indicates the severity of the floods _ and the secretive regime's desperation.

U.N. food distribution is strictly monitored to ensure those in need are being fed. The tightly controlled communist North has previously bristled at such intrusions. In recent years it scaled back the outside assistance it allows, claiming its food crisis was over.

But this year's floods, spawned by the heaviest rain in four decades, appear to have devastated the country.

The North says recent storms destroyed more than 11 percent of its crops. International aid officials say some 221 people were killed and 82 remain missing. More than 89,000 are homeless.

The disaster has also forced the postponement of the first summit between the two Koreas in seven years. The planned summit, along with the easing of a nuclear standoff between North Korea and the international community, have recently relieved some tensions in the region.

Pyongyang requested more help Tuesday from the South, beyond the US$7.5 million (?5.55 million) in emergency aid that Seoul has already pledged.

The South's Unification Ministry said it was considering what to offer in response to the North's plea for construction materials and heavy equipment.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Tuesday that the North sent it a letter saying it "welcomes willingness to assist," and that it was asked to coordinate relief efforts.

The agency plans to send experts to the country in the next few days, spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs said in Geneva.

The World Health Organization said North Korea asked it to coordinate the supply of medicines and emergency health kits.

The World Food Program or WFP is already at the center of international efforts to help fight hunger in the North, which is unable to provide for its own people without outside aid.

For the new emergency aid starting Tuesday, the WFP said the North Korean government "has indicated its acceptance of WFP's conditions allowing for ongoing assessments and visits by WFP staff" of distribution in affected areas.