S. Korea to send third notice urging North to repay food loan

South Korea will send a third notice to North Korea, urging the country again to repay overdue loans extended to the North after a summit between the two countries in 2000, Seoul said Thursday.

In loans of rice and corn, promised in the landmark 2000 summit between the two Koreas, South Korea provided the North with food worth a total of $720 million until 2007.

Including interest accrued on the food loans, the North is required to repay some $875 million by 2037, with the first installment payment of $5.83 million having come due on June 7.

The North has remained silent about the overdue debt, causing Seoul to issue the third reminder of the missed debt repayment to Pyongyang.

Seoul has not used its rights to declare Pyongyang to be in default to the international community although it became entitled to do so after the North was silent for more than 30 days after the first reminder was sent on June 8.

"As the North kept mum about notices sent both on June 8 and July 16, we are planning to sent another notice through the Export-Import Bank of Korea, urging it to pay back the food loan," said an official at the Unification Ministry handling inter-Korean issues.(Yonhap)