The politics of North Korean need and South Korean aid

South Korea is in the process of providing the flood-ravaged North Korea with emergency aid, purportedly on humanitarian grounds.

Apparently in the hope of receiving those items, the North sent back a South Korean fishing boat and its crew on Tuesday, whom it had held in custody for a month for allegedly trespassing into its territorial waters. Reportedly, the South Korean government is favorably considering the North’s request.

Before making a final decision, Seoul will have to take into consideration the remarks President Lee Myung-bak made in May on North Korea’s March 26 torpedo attack on the South Korean warship Cheonan. He said aid would be limited to humanitarian purposes until after the North acknowledged the unprovoked act of hostility and offered an apology.

[Korean Herald]