SEOUL, Oct 10, 2005 (Xinhua via COMTEX
-- South Korea government Monday decided to provide 3 million US dollars
in aid to Pakistan, who hit by a strong earthquake recently, South Korean
Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The decision was made at a meeting of
related government ministers chaired by South Korean Prime Minister Lee
Hae-chan, the statement said.
The government will first send 500,000 US dollars along with blankets, relief foods and medical supplies to Pakistan, said the statement, adding subsequent shipments will be provided after closely monitoring relief operations there.
South Korean government will soon dispatch a team of four rescue squads affiliated with the (South) Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and another medical team consisting of six medical doctors and four nurses.
Moreover, the (South) Korean National Red Cross (KNRC) said earlier in the day it has delivered 50,000 US dollars in emergency aid to Pakistan. The donations were sent to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, a KNRC spokesman said.
The KNRC also launched a donation campaign with the aim of raising up to 1 billion won (964,000 US dollars) in additional aid for the quake-hit countries.
The 7.6-magnitude earthquake that devastated Pakistan- controlled Kashmir on last Saturday is estimated to have killed at least 30,000 people. India is also reported to have several hundred people killed.