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South Korea Offers 500,000 Tons of Food Aid to DPRK
South Korea said Thursday that it would offer 500,000 tons of food aid to DPRK as a long-term loan in order to facilitate reconciliation accords reached by the two countries.
The aid package, the largest ever between the two Koreas, will consist of 300,000 tons of Thai rice and 200,000 tons of Chinese corn, Unification Ministry officials said. The government also said that it will provide the North with additional 100,000 tons of foreign corn via the World Food Program.
"The decision to import rice and corn from abroad is to reduce the cost and to give as much food aid to the North as possible," the official said.
The 100-million-dollar food loan will carry an annual interest rate of 1 percent, and will be repaid over 20 years with a 10-year grace period.
South Korea this year gave North 200,000 tons of fertilizer shortly after the two sides announced plans to hold first-ever summit between President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.
DPRK has agreed to allow observers from the South and other international organizations to monitor the distribution process in order to ensure transparency, said a ministry statement.
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