Unification minister seeks to build consensus on North Korean aid

Unification Minister Kim Yeonchul discussed the issue of providing food aid to North Korea with civic groups here, Tuesday, as part of a first step in reviewing the project.

Seventeen people from three organizations, including the Korea Conference of Religions for Peace, participated in the discussion.

The three groups are favorable toward the government providing humanitarian aid to the North. In a joint statement, they said South Korea should never ignore the devastating food shortage there despite ongoing military and political tension between the two Koreas.

"As of now, the unification ministry is focusing on receiving opinions. We will decide on the project's timing, method and scale afterwards," a ministry official said.

Even though an exact timeline has yet to be fixed, observers note that the South will be able to provide food aid before the World Food Programme's (WFP) deadline of September.

"The request from the WFP is to finish providing food aid sometime between May and September," the official said.

Minister Kim will continue holding talks with other civic groups before coming up with details of the aid provision. He also plans to have luncheon today with ministry advisers handling the issue of humanitarian cooperation.

Backlash from North Korea

Former North Korean diplomat Thae Yongho commented on the backlash from the North over the South's plan to provide humanitarian aid.

He argued that Pyongyang thinks Seoul is moving too slowly and keeps making a big issue out of the plan.

"The North is seeking to appear confident even though it is receiving food aid," Thae said on his blog, Monday.

He added that the Kim regime views the atmosphere surrounding the food aid issue highlights the South's advantageous position over the North.

The analysis came a day after Meari, a North Korean propaganda outlet, stepped up criticism of the South for "pretending" to show off its goodwill without taking any action. The propaganda site argued Seoul's humanitarian aid plan was nothing more than a "specious remark."

"Taking into account what happened in the North over the past week, I think Kim Jongun's sense of frustration is growing over external circumstances surrounding the North," Thae said.

Starting this month, the North has conducted two sets of launches of short-range missiles off its eastern coast, in an apparent show of discontent over the ongoing deadlock in the nuclear talks with the United States.

Because of the diplomatic stalemate, Kim is likely to continue taking such military steps for the time being.

"The North will have difficulty in reaching any consensus in the denuclearization negotiations with the U.S. within the first half of this year," Thae said.

Despite the North's resumed provocations, the South Korean government remains firm in its willingness to continue finding ways to bring the North back to negotiations.