South Korean Ambassador to Vietnam Kim Do-hyon on March 19 handed over 200 bomb/mine detectors to the Vietnam National Mine Action Center (VNMAC), state media reported. The handover was part of a project to remedy the consequences of post-war bombs and mines in Vietnam, which was launched by the VNMAC, the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in March 2018. The project is scheduled to last until December 2020. The 200 machines are expected to help the VNMAC survey the exact locations of bombs and mines and defuse them as well as set up a database on the contaminated areas, said Deputy Director of the center Nguyen Hanh Phuc at the hand-over ceremony. Ambassador Kim Do-hyon affirmed that South Korea is ready to provide Vietnam with modern equipment to improve the efficiency of post-war settlement activities in the Southeast Asian country. Vietnam now has more than 6.1 million hectares of land or 18.71% of its total area contaminated with about 800,000 tons of bombs, mines and unexploded ordnances (UXO) left by wars, which are scattered over all 63 cities and provinces, with the central region being the hardest hit. Since 1975, the end of Vietnam War, bombs and mines have killed more than 40,000 people and injured 60,000 others in the country. (Bao Chinh Phu, VTV)
