1. El Salvador was hit by an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale at around 11:30 January 13, 
2001 (04:30 January 14 in Korea), which has left 218 people killed and about 1,200 missing, and also 
causing major property damage as of 15:00 January 14. 

2. As of January 15, there are no reported Korean casualties from the earthquake; however, several Korean 
companies and Korean missions suffered from some property damage. The Government of the Republic of 
El Salvador declared national emergency crisis immediately after the earthquake, and has been calling for 
support from the international community through the Statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As of now, 
a number of countries including the US, Japan, France and Canada, as well as neighboring countries in 
Latin America and Caribbean, have notified the El Salvadorian government of their willingness to send 
emergency aid, but no specific figure has been set yet. The Korean Embassy in El Salvador has been 
placed on alert right after the quake, and is receiving reports from Korean residents in the area. 

3. Considering the seriousness of the earthquake damage and the El Salvadorian government's call for 
support, the Government of the Republic of Korea has decided to provide as a humanitarian assistance the 
total of US$100,000 in emergency aid--including relief materials worth US$50,000 and US$50,000 in 
emergency fund. The Korean government will begin negotiations with El Salvador at an early date to finalize 
the types of relief commodities to ensure their early arrival at the disaster site. 


                                                          Spokesperson of MOFAT

* unofficial translation