Around the World: Republic of Korea

Aid to Pyongyang likely

Republic of Korea's (ROK) government will consider giving limited aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) but has ruled out assistance on the large scale of previous liberal administrations, a senior official said yesterday.

It would be the first time that the administration of conservative President Lee Myung-bak has given aid to Pyongyang. Lee has previously linked any aid to progress in efforts to rid the North of its nuclear program. Local media have reported that the government is thinking about sending up to 50,000 tons of food.