S Korea gives North 100,000 tonnes rice in flood aid

SEOUL, Aug 20 (Reuters) South Korea will send 100,000 tonnes of rice through its Red Cross to flood-ravaged North Korea in a one-time aid package that also includes building materials and equipment, the government said today.

Seoul, a major supplier of aid to the impoverished North, had cut off its ongoing food aid after Pyongyang defied international warnings and test-fired seven missiles on July 5.

Major storms hit the North last month, causing flooding that killed at least 151, according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. A pro-North paper issued in Japan put the death toll at 549 with 295 missing.

''We find it meaningful that this aid is backed by public opinion and bipartisan support that called for humanitarian assistance for the North based on national love,'' Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang told reporters.

Shipments will begin later in August, he said.

The aid comes after US news reports said last week the North may be preparing to conduct a nuclear weapons test.

Officials in Washington and Seoul said there was no conclusive evidence for such a test.

The aid package is the result of a meeting of Red Cross officials from the two Koreas yesterday, where the North thanked the South for the help, an official has said.

Pyongyang had earlier rebuffed aid offers from Seoul and from the World Food Programme (WFP). A WFP official has said the North was ready to reverse position and accept its offer to wheat, flour and vegetable oil.

Earlier this month the South Korean government offered a separate package of household goods and medicine worth 10.4 million dollars.

Even in a good year, North Korea falls about 1 million tonnes short of the food it needs to feed its people. South Korea provided 500,000 tonnes of rice last year but has rebuffed a request for the same amount earlier this year.

The South gave the North 350,000 tonnes of fertiliser this year prior to the multiple missile launches.

REUTERS LL VC1235