Lutherans Assist with Food for Flood Victims in North Korea

FOOD FOR FLOOD VICTIMS IN NORTH KOREA

Action by Churches Together (ACT) is providing relief for victims
of flooding in North Korea.  ACT officials believe the country
will need more than one million metric tons of food aid next
year.  Harvests are expected to cover domestic requirements for
the winter.  ACT is a worldwide network of churches, including
the Lutheran World Federation, meeting human need through
coordinated emergency response.  Heavy rains in late July
aggravated the seriousness of existing food supply problems in
the country caused by severe flooding in 1995.  United Nations
specialists told ACT that new flooding will cut cereal production
by 373,000 tons, worsening the famine next year.  North Koreans
are suffering symptoms of severe malnutrition, ACT said.  ACT has
allocated more than $1 million for food and other relief efforts,
including shipments of wheat flour.  So far there have been no
official reports of starvation deaths, according to ACT, because
a rationing system brought food to the entire population.  The
long-term health of children is at risk, and adults are exhausted
from heavy work on meager rations.  The Lutheran World Federation
is a global communion of 122 member churches, including the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

For information contact: Ann Hafften, Dir., ELCA News Service,
(312) 380-2958 or AHAFFTEN@ELCA.ORG; Frank Imhoff, Assoc. Dir.,
(312) 380-2955 or FRANKI@ELCA.ORG; Melissa Ramirez, Assist. Dir.,
(312) 380-2956 or MRAMIREZ@ELCA.ORG