Korea to provide $300,000 to disaster-hit Sierra Leone

South Korea plans to extend $300,000 in humanitarian assistance to Sierra Leone where massive mudslides killed hundreds of people, the foreign ministry said Monday.

Downpours and following mudslides resulted in the deaths of some 350 people in the capital of Freetown a week earlier. Some 600 people remain missing, while 2,000 others have been left homeless, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.

"The latest damage was done as Sierra Leone was struggling to recover from the fallout of an Ebola virus outbreak, which came to an end in March 2016," the ministry said.

"The upcoming assistance, which comes on the heels of our country's Ebola relief aid to Sierra Leone in 2014, is expected to help stabilize the lives of people affected by the natural disasters and rebuild the affected region," the ministry also said.

The ministry added that it plans to expand its humanitarian diplomacy to help natural disaster-hit countries as a responsible member of the international community. (Yonhap)