South Korea to Give 44,000 Tons of Food to N. Korea
South Korea will give 44,000 tons of food aid to poverty-stricken North Korea on a humanitarian basis via the World Food Program (WFP), the Ministry of Unification said Thursday.
At the request of the international relief agency, the Seoul government plans to send 24,000 tons of corn, 12,000 tons of beans, 5,000 tons of wheat, 2,000 tons of wheat flour and 1,000 tons of powered milk, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung told reporters.
It will be the first time since 2004 that South Korea will provide food aid to the North via the WFP.
The planned food aid is worth $23 million, Lee said.
The minister also hinted that South Korea might resume the shipment of rice aid to the North in the form of a loan in the near future after a banking dispute over Pyongyang's frozen funds at a Macau bank is resolved.
A weak harvest in 2006, disastrous summer flooding and a 75 percent fall in donor assistance have dealt severe blows to the impoverished North, according to the WFP.