South Korea approves $8 million aid to North Korea

The South aims to send $4.5 million worth of nutritional products for children and pregnant women through the World Food Programme and $3.5 million worth of vaccines and medicinal treatments

Amid geopolitical tensions, South Korea sanctioned a plan of $8 million worth of aid to North Korea. The exact timing of when the aid will be sent, as well as its size, will be confirmed later, the ministry said in a statement. But the decision to send aid to North Korea was not popular in South Korea.

The South's Unification Ministry said its aid policy remains unaffected by geopolitical tensions with the North, reports Reuters.

As per the reports, the South aims to send $4.5 million worth of nutritional products for children and pregnant women through the World Food Programme and $3.5 million worth of vaccines and medicinal treatments through UNICEF.

"We have consistently said we would pursue humanitarian aid for North Korea in consideration of the poor conditions children and pregnant women are in there, apart from political issues," said Unification Minister Cho Myong-gyon.

Ahead of the decision, UNICEF's regional director for East Asia and the Pacific Karin Hulshof said in a statement the problems North Korean children face "are all too real".

"Today, we estimate that around 200,000 children are affected by acute malnutrition, heightening their risk of death and increasing rates of stunting," Reuters quoted as saying.

The last time the South had sent aid to the North was in December 2015 through the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) under ex-president Park Geun-hye.

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