ROK's unification minister renews support for humanitarian aid to DPRK

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s Unification Minister Lee In-young, a top Seoul policymaker in charge of inter-Korean affairs, renewed his support Monday to resume humanitarian aid in the private sector to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Lee made the remark during a meeting with the chief of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, a ROK's pro-unification civic group, according to Yonhap news agency.

The minister was quoted as saying that the government agrees "in principle" to the need for the resumption of the private sector's humanitarian assistance to the DPRK, vowing to review it sufficiently and rapidly.

Lee, however, noted that there remained issues to be considered, including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic across the world.

Lee Jong-joo, the unification ministry spokesperson, told a regular briefing that the government maintained a basic position that it is necessary to continue the humanitarian assistance in the private sector.

The comment came after Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea of the DPRK, said last week that the DPRK may put on the agenda the issue of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, an organization for dialogue with ROK "which has no reason for its existence."

Kim slammed the annual springtime military exercises between ROK and the United States that lasted from March 8 to March 18.

Seoul has claimed that the joint military drills are defensive in nature, but Pyongyang has denounced it as a dress rehearsal for the northward invasion.