N Korean Defectors Protest in Seoul Against Humanitarian Aid to North - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Dozens of North Koreans, who fled to the South, gathered next to the South Korea's Unification Ministry in Seoul to protests against the ministry' plan to provide $8 million of humanitarian aid to the North, media reported Friday.

According to the NHK broadcaster, nearly 30 North Korean defectors, who currently reside in South Korea, gathered next to the Unification Ministry to hold a demonstration against the government's plan to provide humanitarian aid to the North.

The protesters claimed that such step would only "flatter" the North Korean regime which threatens to test the hydrogen bomb in the Pacific. They called on the South Korean government to abandon its plans, stressing that the assistance, if provided to North Korea, would not be given to the population, but appropriated by the authorities.

On Thursday, South Korea’s Unification Ministry said it would provide the North with humanitarian aid worth $8 million. Of this sum, $4.5 million will be allocated through UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) and $3.5 million — through the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).