The Republic of Korea (RoK) announced on August 10 that it will provide Indonesia with 500,000 USD in humanitarian aid after the Southeast Asian country suffered damage from a recent earthquake.

The Republic of Korea (RoK) announced on August 10 that it will provide Indonesia with 500,000 USD in humanitarian aid. (Photo: Yonhap)

The aid will be delivered through local Red Cross authorities, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ministry said that Indonesia is the RoK’s key partner in its New Southern Policy aimed at promoting substantive cooperation with southern Asian countries. The two sides upgraded bilateral ties to a "special strategic partnership" during President Moon Jae-in's state visit to Indonesia in November last year.

Meanwhile, the ministry issued a separate statement advising Korean people to refrain from traveling to Lombok. It has raised the travel alert level to yellow, the second of the four-tier system, citing continued aftershocks there.

The measure is meant to inform people of the potential danger in visiting the region and advise them to be cautious in making related decisions.

The ministry said it will "constantly review the need for an additional adjustment to the travel warning level, keeping a close eye on quake-related situations on and near Lombok Island."

Indonesia’s tourist island of Lombok was struck by a 7-magnitude earthquake on August 5. As of August 8, a total 347 people were killed and 1,500 were injured.

Spokesman of the Indonesia National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) Sutopo Purwo Nugroho said that among 200,000 locals in the north of Lombok, 165,000 people were evacuated.

There were some 332 aftershocks following the earthquake, according to the BNPB.

(Source: VNA/ DA NANG Today)