South Korea to offer $1M aid to earthquake-hit Syria

The South Korean government will provide $1 million of humanitarian aid to Syria, a country gravely affected by the Feb. 6 earthquake.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs decided to offer humanitarian aid to Syria, which has no diplomatic relations with South Korea, via the United Nations, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lim Soo-suk said in a regular press briefing on Thursday.

Alongside Turkey, Syria’s northwest was hit hard by the 7.8 magnitude quake and subsequent aftershocks.

Rescue efforts in Syria have been hampered by the civil war that started in 2011, and death toll stands at nearly 6,000 as of Thursday, according to the Syrian government and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

However, safety issues caused by civil war as well as global politics hindered global aid from reaching the earthquake-stricken region.

The ministry is working to offer the aid as soon as possible, said a Foreign Ministry official.

“We hope the government can support victims ... and help the recovery process,” the spokesperson said.