South green-lights humanitarian aid to North Korea, first this year

The South Korean government gave the green light to private humanitarian assistance deliveries to North Korea amounting to 240 million won ($183,000), according to the Unification Ministry on Tuesday, the first aids package approval this year.

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se takes questions from lawmakers at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Monday. [NEWS1]

The South Korean government gave the green light to private humanitarian assistance deliveries to North Korea amounting to 240 million won ($183,000), according to the Unification Ministry on Tuesday, the first aids package approval for Pyongyang this year.

The government approved a private organization's application last month for the provision of aid to the North through sending nutritional supplies, an official from Seoul's Unification Ministry said, without disclosing further details.

This marks the sixth approval of humanitarian aid for the North since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration in May last year.

The ministry did not disclose the name of the group providing aid or the recipient organization in the North, taking into consideration the need for privacy in order for the project to succeed.

The group is expected to provide the supplies to the North through China.

"Our government will continue to approve deliveries of humanitarian goods to North Korea at the private level if there are requests from civic groups and all requirements are met," the official told reporters.

Last year, the Korean government approved 12 rounds of humanitarian aid deliveries to North Korea, amounting to a total of 5.52 billion won, after applications by private organizations, of which five projects were approved after the launch of the Yoon government.

One week ago, President Yoon said the South Korean government will not be giving anymore handouts to the North so long as it continues to develop its nuclear weapons program.

During the Cabinet meeting on March 28, Yoon instructed Unification Minister Kwon Young-se not to give "even a single penny" to the North in a situation where the regime continues its nuclear pursuit.

This was an apparent shift away from the previous Moon Jae-in administration's initiatives to provide economic aid to the North to promote denuclearization and inter-Korean cooperation.

Instead, the Yoon government has pursued a more hard-line Pyongyang policy, such as coming down on its human rights abuses, while pursuing its so-called "audacious initiative" meant to help North Korea's economy if the regime takes significant steps toward denuclearization.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]