ROK civic groups send flour to flood-ravaged DPRK

Seoul - Representatives from an association of Republic of Korea (ROK) private aid groups headed to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) Friday to deliver flour to flood victims.

Eleven officials from the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea, an association of 51 private aid groups, traveled to the DPRK border town of Kaesong earlier in the day to monitor the distribution of some 500 tons of flour.

The move came after the South Korean chapter of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization, sent 500 tons of flour to children in flood-hit South Pyongyan Province last month in what was the first such flood aid offer from the South.

The DPRK's state-run media have reported heavy floods have killed at least 169 people and left 400 missing.

Still, the DPRK rejected the South Korean government's offer of flour, instant noodles and medicine last month, with its state media calling the offer "meager" and "insulting."

The two sides remain at odds over two deadly border clashes in 2010, which led to a suspension of almost all cross-border exchanges.