By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yu Myung-hwan said Thursday that he is ready to meet North Korean officials to discuss food aid for the famine-stricken country.
``If there is a chance to consult with the North, we will discuss the matter with them directly,'' Yu told reporters after attending a Job Fair for Career Opportunities in U.N. Systems in Seoul.
Seoul is in consultations with related nations and international agencies on the assessment of the food situation in North Korea, he said.
The Lee Myung-bak government, however, is expected to cut state subsidies to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) carrying out inter-Korean humanitarian and cooperation programs, reflecting concerns about transparency in the use of funds for cross-border exchanges.
An 18-member committee, comprising ranking officials of related ministries and North Korea experts, gathered in Seoul to approve civilian cross-border projects and to decide on the amount of inter-Korean cooperation funds that will be provided this year to NGOs helping North Korea.
The government is expected to earmark about 10 billion won in subsidies for 37 private organizations, which is lower than the 11.7 billion won the Roh Moo-hyun government spent last year.
The planned subsidy cut came amid reports that Pyongyang faces growing difficulties in feeding its people due to soaring grain prices, poor harvests, and dwindling donations from the outside world.
U.S. officials plan to visit the communist regime later this month to discuss 500,000 tons of food aid to be delivered via the World Food Program and non-governmental organizations, reports said.
Seoul has said it is open to giving humanitarian aid to Pyongyang, but that it would not do so unless it makes an official request.
``Considering the government's move to cut spending and some questions raised earlier by state auditors about the use of the government subsidies for NGOs, we've toughened screening of NGOs and their inter-Korean programs,'' an official of the Unification Ministry said.
``However, the government will minimize the subsidy reduction to continue civilian exchanges between Seoul and Pyongyang,'' he said.
The committee will also decide whether to approve a plan to provide 14 billion won in inter-Korean cooperation funds to help the North through the World Health Organization and the UNICEF.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security, the government plans to provide subsidies to a total of 117 NGOs this year.
Many organizations working for immigrant workers, female workers and the underprivileged people became the new beneficiaries, while the government scrapped subsidies for many North Korea-related NGOs.