PYONGYANG, Sept 5, 2007 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday thanked the international community for providing emergency aid to the flooded area of the country, the official news agency reported.
"This time the DPRK received medicines and other emergency aid materials given by international organizations including the UN and many countries including China, the United States, the EU, Russia, Australia and Egypt with sincerity," the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) quoted a spokesman of DPRK Foreign Ministry as saying.
"The DPRK feels thankful for this aid," he said, adding that "it will help the DPRK recover from the flood damage and bring the living of the inhabitants in the afflicted areas to normal."
The flood in August claimed hundreds of lives and affected more than 963,000 people across the country, according to the KCNA.
The unusual heavy rains caused huge material losses to the DPRK, creating unprecedented difficulties in agriculture and construction.
At least 11 percent of rice and maize fields across the country were submerged, buried or washed away, according to official statistics.
Besides the aid from the international community, South Korea has also announced to provide about 44.5 billion won (47.5 million U.S. dollars) worth of cement, heavy equipments and relief materials to the DPRK.