S. Korea offers to ship food aid to DPRK

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South Korea says it will donate a small shipment of humanitarian aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. It will be the first direct humanitarian food aid since South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008.

Chun Hea-Sung, spokesman South Korea Unification Ministry, said, "We will send 10 thousand tons of corn and 20 tons of powdered milk for children and pregnant women, as a sign of humanitarian support and brotherly love."

But the spokesman stressed the aid is purely humanitarian and Seoul is not considering further assistance. South Korea has provided food and fertilizer to the DPRK under a "Sunshine Policy" adopted by former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-Hyun. But the aid stopped after Lee Myung-bak took office last year. He'd promised to take a tougher approach on the DPRK's nuclear issue. The DPRK requested further humanitarian aid from the South during inter-Korean Red Cross talks on family reunions on October 16th.