Pope appeals for more humanitarian aid for NKorea

VATICAN CITY, Nov 13 (Reuters) Pope Benedict today urged the international community to increase humanitarian aid to North Korea and called for negotiations leading to the ''denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula''.

''I truly hope that the international community will pursue and intensify its humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable people, especially those in North Korea, so that any eventual interruption (of negotiations) does not bring very serious consequences for civilians,'' he told Japan's new ambassador.

North Korea, which conducted a nuclear test on October 9, agreed earlier this month to rejoin six-party talks on its nuclear programmes after staying away for a year in protest over a US crackdown on its international finances.

The talks bring together the two Koreas, China, Japan, Russia and the United States.

Pyongyang's nuclear test drew worldwide condemnation and UN sanctions. China, North Korea's biggest backer, has backed the UN sanctions, which target trade with Pyongyang in large conventional weapons, weapons of mass destruction and luxury goods.

In his address to Ambassador Kagefumi Uemo, the Pope spoke only of humanitarian aid and did not mention the sanctions.

Last month, the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN's food arm, warned that it could be forced to halt distributions in North Korea as early as January without more money being made available.

It aims to feed 1.9 million people in North Korea but is helping fewer than 1 million because of funding shortages.

As many as 2.5 million North Koreans -- about 10 per cent of the population -- died in the 1990s due to famines caused by drought, flooding and economic mismanagement.

Benedict said the Holy See hoped that the region's crisis could be solved by bilateral and multilateral negotiations to achieve the ''denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula''.

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