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| Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks while presiding over a meeting of a civic group-government committee on inter-Korean cooperation at the government complex in Seoul, Thursday. Yonhap |
By Yi Whan-woo
Proposals to provide government funding for humanitarian aid to North Korea are gaining momentum following the appointment pf Lee In-young, a former four-term ruling party lawmaker, as unification minister, July 27.
Led by Lee, a civic group-government committee approved, Thursday, a plan to offer $10 million for a World Food Programme (WFP) project to supply food to young children and women in the North.
The money will be used to provide nearly 9,000 tons of fortified food to children aged under seven and pregnant women in 60 North Korean counties.
The committee also approved a plan to spend nearly $2.4 million this year as part of a three-year project to turn the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into a cultural zone.
In separate assistance, the government will provide 3,600 tons of food aid, including corn, beans and oil, to 26,500 North Koreans who take part in rural community projects.
More than 60 percent of them are women, who are mobilized to restore river banks, plant trees and do other physical work.
The ministry is also reviewing an agricultural federation's plan to barter sugar produced here for North Korean alcoholic beverages.
The government, either unilaterally or in cooperation with international organizations, sought to aid children and women in the North under Lee's predecessor Kim Yeon-chul but these moves were rebuffed by Pyongyang.
For instance, the WFP has sought financial support for food aid since January but government approval was delayed after the North ratcheted up rhetoric against President Moon Jae-in and blew up a liaison office in its border city of Gaeseong.
"Lee being the unification minister is a plus for cross-border humanitarian assistance to pick up speed," a ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) official said on condition of anonymity.
The official was referring to a lack of this under Kim, who expressed difficulty in leading inter-Korean affairs when he stepped down as unification minister in June, holding himself responsible for the strained relations.
Kim said he had too much of an administrative burden and limited authority.
Lee, who served as the DPK floor leader until recently, is known for his involvement in "peace-related" activities.
Against this backdrop, a ministry official expressed hope that the government will be able to "continue to provide humanitarian assistance regardless of the political and military situation."
