In August 2024, two fevers rage on the Korean Peninsula. One is the summer heat wave that hits the Peninsula every year. After the rainy season in late July, the heat wave pressures people to refrain from outdoor activities at higher than 35 degrees Celsius. The other is stories about the Olympics being held in Paris, France. Koreans were cold-hearted at the beginning of the Olympics, but the reports of adding gold medals every day standing around sixth place in medal earnings revived their national instinct of dynamic cheering.

However, this peninsula also has heartbreaking news, although the hot news almost buries it. It refers to the story of a flood in northwestern North Korea at the end of last month. According to North Korean media reports, a large-scale agricultural area was flooded due to torrential downpours in North Pyongan Province and Jagang Province, including the City of Sinuiju, and at least 5,000 people were rescued after being isolated. North Korean reports suggest that "unacceptable casualties" have occurred, but the exact number of deaths is unknown.

In any country, it is customary for emergency relief activities to be carried out domestically and internationally in the event of a huge level natural disaster. However, there has been no significant movement in international relief aid this time. It is unfortunate and inconvenient. In the case of South Korea, the willingness to provide relief aid has been publicly announced, but there is no response from North Korea. In the case of Russia, relief aid was offered, but North Korea refused to receive it for now, saying it would take care of it. It is still being determined whether China intends to provide aid, but considering the relationship between the two countries, it is assumed that they communicated behind closed doors. The United States and Japan have not made any comment on North Korean floodwaters. Several international organizations are talking with North Korea about relief aid, but they explain that no assistance is being provided.

In the event of a humanitarian disaster in North Korea, the correct answer is that all neighboring countries, regardless of friendly or hostile relations, participate in relief aid. This is because humanitarianism is a common human obligation earned through trials and errors for thousands of years since the emergence of mankind. About 2,600 years ago, Buddha taught that it is an essential principle for human beings to be aware of the pain of others and to try to alleviate the pain. About 2,400 years ago, Chinese thinker Mencius saw compassion for those in need among the four elements that make up human nature. He pointed out that if you see other people's misfortune and don't feel sorry for them, you are not a human being but a beast. The Holy Bible, which contains the teachings of Jesus about 2,000 years ago, also teaches people to help neighbors in need and show mercy regardless of their background or status. Helping people who were in need due to the flooding of the Aprok River a few days ago is also included in essential human behavior.

Humanitarianism is also an international norm. When Henri Dunant, a Swiss businessman and social activist, led the creation of the International Red Cross in 1863, he set guidelines as international norms that it is appropriate to assist soldiers injured in war, even if they are enemies. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Society have also made efforts to establish international norms to relieve victims of natural disasters. The 30th International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies held in 2007 approved international disaster response laws and guidelines. The guidelines recommend countries adopt laws or strategies for adequate relief in international disaster situations. These recommendations allow administrative procedures to be carried out quickly in the event of a relief situation and propose ways of coordination and cooperation between different countries and organizations participating in the relief.

Even without talking about international norms, humanitarianism has the same effect as subscribing to insurance as a program that benefits all countries. Since natural disasters can occur anytime, anywhere, it would be the answer that all countries should be ready for the worst situation. The problem is that it is very inefficient to constantly store the relief supplies needed to deal with severe disasters because a large-scale stockpile with no use in decades is simply a big loss. Therefore, it would obviously help each other if all countries had the least preparedness for a first response. Then, neighboring countries provided their emergency supplies in case of a disaster in a particular country. For example, if ten countries consistently have emergency supplies worth 1 billion dollars each, and in the event of a disaster in any one of them, all other countries can mobilize up to 10 billion dollars worth of relief supplies if they participate in the program. All countries participating in this program can use 9 billion dollars each to develop their own, which benefits all.

The South Korean government's willingness to provide aid to North Korea is considered half-hearted from a humanitarian point of view. This is because it is inevitable that North Korea will refuse if it simply offers one-sided aid, considering the current inter-Korean relations. Efforts should have been made to convey the intention of relief aid to North Korea privately and to create a positive atmosphere for the North to accept the South's proposal. If the South thinks that the North has no choice but to accept the South's proposal to receive the supplies as the North has suffered a devastating disaster, it is way out of the humanitarian dimension. It is a mean behavior as a global pivot country emphasizing human rights and democracy. The South Korean government needs more communication efforts to prove its sincerity, both internally and externally, and that humanitarianism will prevail.

Wang Son-taek

Wang Son-taek is an adjunct professor at Sogang University. He is a former diplomatic correspondent at YTN and a former research associate at Yeosijae. The views expressed here are the writer’s own. -- Ed.