South Korea donates $900,000 to conflict-ridden Myanmar, says UN body

The South Korean government has granted $900,000 to a UN-led humanitarian aid initiative for Myanmar, which has suffered hugely following February’s coup.

Editor's note: The article has been corrected to show that it’s South Korea, not North Korea, that has made a donation to Myanmar. A spokesman for the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said data that had appeared earlier on its financial tracking service showing a contribution of $300,000 by North Korea was wrong. The website has since been updated and the $300,000 has been added to South Korea’s existing donation of $600,000. 

On Thursday, data from the financial tracking service of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs showed that the South Korean government has responded to a UN call for funding. 

The initiative, which seeks funding for conflict-ridden Myanmar, calls for $276 million from donors. South Korea’s donation of $900,000 is marginally less than Ireland's contribution of $1,188,838 but more than what France and Finland donated. Nearly half of the $58 million already granted has been given by the US. The two next largest donors are Japan and the UK, representing 13.2% and 7.2%, respectively. 

Myanmar’s government was overthrown by the military in February 2021 and the resulting clashes have seen hundreds die. The military junta has vowed to return power to a democratically elected government in time but has engaged in repeated crackdowns on pro-democracy protests.

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