S. Korea may allow civilian groups to send rice to N. Korea: official

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Sept. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is considering once again allowing
civilian relief groups to send rice to North Korea as emergency aid, a senior
government official said Sunday.
If approved, it would be seen as a symbolic gesture as South Korea has refused to
allow rice to be sent to the North since President Lee Myung-bak took office in
February 2008, implementing policy to tie aid to progress in Pyongyang's
denuclearization efforts.
A South Korean aid group is currently seeking government approval to ship 100
tons of rice to North Korea in the aftermath of last month's heavy rains, which
caused tens of deaths and destroyed farmland in the communist country.
"In the case of civilian aid that is emergency assistance in nature, whether it
includes flour, corn or rice, the government is thinking of positively reviewing
it," the official told reporters, asking not to be identified by post or name,
citing policy.
South Korea's Red Cross last week proposed to its North Korean counterpart that
it would send 10 billion won (US$8.4 million) in flood aid that excludes rice.
The offer came amid high tension between the divided states, which remain
technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce.
South Korea accused the North Korean navy of torpedoing its Cheonan warship in
the Yellow Sea on March 26, killing 46 sailors. The North denies its role and has
threatened war for any punishment.
South Korea provided North Korea with hundreds of thousands of tons of rice
annually before the aid was suspended in 2008. A build-up in rice stocks in the
South has since become such a national concern that some ruling party lawmakers
recently supported resuming shipments of rice aid to North Korea.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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