HUMANITARIAN FOOD AID

[Anchor Lead]

The South Korean government has decided to provide rice aid to North Korea through an international organization. It's South Korea's first rice assistance to North Korea in nine years. Rice sacks will be marked "the Republic of Korea" to prevent the rice from being diverted to the military.

[Pkg]

The South Korean government will send 50,000 tons of rice to North Korea through the World Food Programme. The rice, worth some 127 billion won, was all farmed in South Korea. Seoul has confirmed Pyongyang's aid acceptance through the WFP and agreed on how to deliver the rice.

[Soundbite] KIM YEON-CHUL(MINISTER OF UNIFICATION) : "The South Korean government has decided to provide the aid at the request of the WFP."

The shipment will likely be transported by sea. The WFP will oversee and monitor the entire process, from delivery to allocation in North Korea. All the rice sacks will be marked "the Republic of Korea" and the grains will be polished to a degree that will allow storage of up to only six months. These measures will be taken to minimize the risk of North Korea diverting the rice for military use. The South Korean government plans to complete the rice delivery by September. The government's decision to provide this rice assistance was largely motivated by a WFP report that claimed the regime's food shortage is the worst in the last decade.

[Soundbite] MARIO ZAPPACOSTA(WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME(LAST MAY))

South Korea was also considerably encouraged by U.S. President Donald Trump's supportive remark and the fact that the aid is not in violation of sanctions against Pyongyang. This is the first cross-border rice assistance in nine years and a first through an international agency. South Korea plans to decide on the timing and scale of additional food aid after reviewing the outcome of this rice assistance.