Seoul May 22 (IANS) South Korea plans to resume humanitarian assistance to North Korea and civilian exchanges to an extent that the move would not compromise international sanctions against Pyongyang a government official said on Monday.
The government said that it will sternly respond to North Korea s provocations but also does not believe that long-strained inter-Korean ties will help stability on the divided peninsula Yonhap News Agency reported.
The government plans to flexibly review (the resumption) of civilian inter-Korean exchanges to the extent that they do not violate international sanctions Lee Duk-haeng spokesman at the Ministry of Unification told a media briefing.
Since President Moon Jae-in took office on May 10 expectations have been high that civilian inter-Korean exchanges would revive as he would seek engagement with Pyongyang.
The government under former President Park Geun-hye said it would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those vulnerable in North Korea such as infants and pregnant women.
But Seoul has suspended almost all civilian inter-Korean exchanges since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January 2016.
South Korea s announcement came as President Moon on Sunday ordered a firm response to North Korea s test-firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile called the Pukguksong-2.
The decision seems to reflect Moon s will to handle humanitarian assistances and exchanges in the non-political sectors separately from geopolitical tensions sparked by Pyongyang s nuclear and missile programmes.
In May 24 2010 Seoul imposed sanctions banning inter-Korean exchanges to punish North Korea for the torpedoing of a South Korean warship.
In February 2016 Seoul closed down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border city of the same name in response to Pyongyang s nuclear and missile test early last year.
The volume of inter-Korean trade hit a 17-year low of $333 million in 2016 mainly due to the shutdown of the complex.
--IANS
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Seoul to flexibly handle civilian inter-Korean exchanges
