SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea pledged to send a total of US$2.3 million in humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa to help tackle the region's protracted drought and food crisis, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.
Kim Sang-jin, deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, announced the new funding plan at a U.N. conference held Wednesday in New York, and offered to contribute another $18.4 million of rice assistance to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
"As a responsible member of the international community, we will actively participate in the global community's efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa," the ministry said in a press release.
According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least $7 billion is needed this year to assist millions of people in the region suffering from drought, displacement and food insecurity.
The undated file photo shows the foreign ministry building in central Seoul. (Yonhap)
julesyi@yna.co.kr
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