Spokesperson for South Korea's Reunification Ministry Baek Tae-Hyun

Among the total, US$4.5 million would be provided for the WFP project, while the remaining US$3.5 million was allotted to the UNICEF project. It was in line with the government's basic stance that its humanitarian aid to Pyongyang would be treated separately from the political situations. The unification ministry, however, said in a statement that the actual provision of the funds would be implemented after considering overall issues including the inter-Korean relations. The implementation of the aid was expected to be delayed as tensions ran high on the Korean Peninsula after the North Korea's nuclear and missile provocations. The approval for the aid to the North Korea was the first since the Moon Jae-in government was inaugurated in May.