South Korea's foreign ministry said Wednesday it has decided to provide an additional US$1 million in humanitarian aid to help Iraqi refugees amid escalating violence in the country.

The humanitarian crisis has heightened in northern Iraq since Sunni Muslim insurgents from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) seized Iraq's second-biggest city of Mosul in June.

The United States began to carry out air strikes on the Islamic extremist group on Aug. 8.

Seoul's foreign ministry said it has decided to support the international community's efforts to provide humanitarian aid to displaced Iraqis.

Around 1.2 million people have been displaced by the terrorist group since June, it added. The Korean government earlier provided $200,000 in humanitarian assistance.

The United Nations last week designated the humanitarian situation in Iraq a "Level 3 Emergency," its highest crisis level.

 "The Korean government plans to continue to provide prompt and active support when emergency humanitarian crises occur," the ministry said in a statement. (Yonhap)