▲ The undated file photo shows the foreign ministry building in central Seoul. (Yonhap)

S Korea-East Africa aid

S. Korea pledges US$2.3 mln in aid to famine-stricken Horn of Africa

SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea pledged to send a total of US$2.3 million in humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa to help tackle the region's protracted drought and food crisis, Seoul's foreign ministry said Friday.

Kim Sang-jin, deputy permanent representative to the United Nations, announced the new funding plan at a U.N. conference held Wednesday in New York, and offered to contribute another $18.4 million of rice assistance to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

"As a responsible member of the international community, we will actively participate in the global community's efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in the Horn of Africa," the ministry said in a press release.

According to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, at least $7 billion is needed this year to assist millions of people in the region suffering from drought, displacement and food insecurity.

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