Aid to N. Korea should be handled separately from int'l sanctions: Seoul

Korea said Monday that its planned humanitarian assistance to infants and pregnant women in North Korea should be provided regardless of the international sanctions regime.

Critics raised questions over whether it is proper for the Seoul government to allow aid to North Korea at a time when international sanctions are deepening over its nuclear programs.

"The government has the basic stance that humanitarian help to those who are vulnerable in North Korea should be continued regardless of political situations. This (issue) is separated from sanctions and pressure," Baik Tae-hyun, spokesman at Seoul's unification ministry, told a regular press briefing.

He said that the international community is on the same page over the need to help North Koreans who are living under poor conditions and undergoing human rights violations.

"The government is sternly responding to North Korea's provocations with pressure and sanctions," Baik said.

Seoul will decide Thursday whether to provide US$8 million in aid to the North via U.N. agencies.

The previous conservative government had suspended humanitarian assistance to the wayward regime since North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January 2016.

If approved, it will mark the first time that Seoul provides aid to the North via U.N. agencies since December 2015. (Yonhap)