ROK to closely cooperate with int'l community for food aid to DPRK: ministry

SEOUL - The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean affairs said Wednesday that it will closely cooperate with the international community in pushing for food aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

Lee Sang-min, spokesman of the Seoul ministry, told a press briefing that ROK will push for humanitarian food assistance for DPRK people in close cooperation with the international society.

Lee noted that it will be pursued toward the people of the same race from the humanitarian perspective given the report by an international organization that the DPRK was under a very serious situation of food shortage.

The comment came after US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Seoul's food aid plan for Pyongyang during his phone talks with ROK's President Moon Jae-in Tuesday night (Korean time).

The spokesman said the food assistance will require several procedures such as discussion among relevant ministries, declining to comment on how and when to offer the assistance.

In September 2017, the ROK's government decided to provide $8 million of humanitarian assistance for the DPRK through international organizations, including the World Food Program (WFP), but it had yet to be spent amid international sanctions against Pyongyang.

Asked about whether ROK intends to provide the food aid directly to the DPRK, the spokesman noted that his country will push for it in close cooperation with the international community.