Red Cross Seeks More N. Korea Aid

The Red Cross appealed Thursday for $18.6 million to expand aid for hundreds of thousands of North Koreans suffering from severe food shortages.

The additional money would bring food aid to 700,000 people, up from the 130,000 the Red Cross has been helping for 18 months, said George Weber, the organization’s secretary-general.

“The expanded operation will allow a much greater number of people to receive adequate food rations until the next harvest in late October,” Weber told a meeting on aid to North Korea.

He said the program would also include medicine, medical equipment and training to improve health care for 2.6 million people.

The United Nations estimates that 4.7 million North Koreans - a fifth of the population - risk starvation this year without massive outside aid.