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| Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul delivers a briefing on pending issues in a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul on July 30. Yonhap |
By Lee Min-hyung
South Korea's plan to provide food aid to North Korea is getting increasingly murky amid growing inter-Korean tension in the wake of the North's repeated provocations.
Earlier, Seoul was supposed to start delivering the first batch of domestically-harvested rice to Pyongyang, as part of a 50,000-ton food provision plan in collaboration with the World Food Programme (WFP). Seoul's unification ministry was hoping to finish the delivery by the end of September. The drive, however, hit snag after North Korea declined last month to accept the support.
The North's refusal will have a negative impact on Seoul's moves to improve inter-Korean relations. Despite the government's repeated insistence on separating the food assistance from politics, thoughts are the donation is widely interpreted as having the political goal of improving inter-Korean relations.
More precisely, with nuclear disarmament talks with the United States in limbo, South Korea is planning to nudge the North to return to the negotiating table. Providing humanitarian assistance is one way to do that, according to the government. The United States and the United Nations granted sanctions waivers for the South to move forward with Seoul's planned humanitarian aid through U.N. food agencies.
Despite the historic June encounter between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the South's side of truce village of Panmunjeom, no "visible progress" in negotiations to resolve the North Korean nuclear conflict issue has been made.
As usual, the North didn't deliver official reasons about its refusal. But one thing is apparent ― North Korea wasn't impressed with the aid. Unlike Seoul's hope, Pyongyang called such gesture "not important" to improve ties between the Koreas.
For this reason, calls are growing for the humanitarian aid plan to be delayed at least until after the North stops missile launches and sends gestures for peace and reconciliation.
The South-led donations were intended to help infants, children and mothers at hospitals, nurseries and orphanages in the North; however, Pyongyang's recent firing of "short-range ballistic missiles" is raising doubts that the aid would carry "substantial risks" as the donation could be diverted away from the intended and targeted recipients.
High temperatures, severe drought in some areas and flooding in other areas cut last year's fall harvest of food products including rice, wheat and soybeans, leading to heavy food insecurity for 10.1 million of the North's estimated 25.5 million people, according to recent U.N survey.
"The government's food aid plan to the North does no good to the South's national security interest at a time when North Korea unveils a new submarine and launches missiles," main opposition Liberty Korea Party Chairman Hwang Kyo-ahn recently said in a party meeting.
The opposition circles have stepped up criticism of the Moon Jae-in administration, urging the government to be more considerate in terms of the "timing" when providing humanitarian aid to the North.
While "now is not the right time to push for the food provision initiative," political analysts said the government has no options but to complete the planned delivery by the end of next month.
"The North expressed the decision in its working-level negotiation with the WFP sometime in mid-July, but the South has yet to receive any 'official' response from the North," a unification ministry spokesman said, recently, adding the ministry is still in a position to "keep waiting for responses from the North."
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