The South Korean government offered humanitarian aid to impoverished North Korea for the first time since the Lee Myung-bak administration came into power in the form of 10 thousand tons of corn, 20 tons of powered milk and medicine.
[Interview : Chun Hae-sung, Unification Ministry Spokesperson] "The decision was made in consideration of North Korea's recent request for humanitarian aid during Red Cross talks on October 16th. Further details on the procedure will be dealt through channels at the truce village of Panmunjom."
Seoul's offer was sent via fax by South Korea's Red Cross to its North Korean counterpart stating that such assistance is aimed at helping those in a vulnerable state such as infants and pregnant women.
Pyeongyang has yet to respond to Seoul's message but the details on how much and what can be offered are speculated to have been sorted out between the two neighboring states through recent engagements.
Seoul's Unification Ministry said a total of 4-billion won, or about 3.4 million US dollars, will be funded by the government for the cost of the corn, while 130-thousand dollars worth of milk powder and medicine will be supplied by the Red Cross.
For many years, South Korea assisted the North shipping hundreds of thousands of tons of rice and fertilizer across the border on a yearly basis.
However, the unconditional assistance was halted after the Lee administration took office last year with a pledge to get tough on the North.
[Reporter : Yoo Ji-hae
julz1201@arirang.co.kr] "Considering the food shortages in the North the aid offered by the South may still not be enough. However, the Seoul government stressed that the move does not necessarily mean that it will restart full-scale assistance to the communist regime nor would it consider offering additional aid, for now.
Yoo Ji-hae, Arirang News."
OCT 26, 2009
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Friday, SEP 03, 2010, (KST) 
