South Korea decided Thursday to offer 8 million U.S. dollars of humanitarian aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) through international organizations under the United Nations.
The inter-Korean exchange and cooperation committee was chaired by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon to approve the provision of 8 million dollars to the projects of the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) for infants and pregnant women in the DPRK.
Among the total, 4.5 million dollars would be provided for the WFP project, while the remaining 3.5 million dollars were allotted to the UNICEF project.
It was in line with the government's basic stance that its humanitarian aid to Pyongyang would be treated separately from political situations.
The unification ministry, however, said in a statement that the actual provision of the funds would be implemented after considering overall situations including the inter-Korean relations.
The implementation of the aid was expected to be delayed as tensions ran high on the Korean Peninsula after the DPRK's nuclear and missile provocations.
On Sept. 3, Pyongyang detonated its sixth nuclear device, seen as the most powerful ever conducted by the Asian country.
It triggered a new UN Security Council resolution toughening sanctions on the DPRK.
The approval for the aid to the DPRK marked the first time since the Moon Jae-in government was inaugurated in May.
The previous government suspended humanitarian aid to its northern neighbor following the DPRK's fourth nuclear detonation in January last year.
