S. Korea hints at rice aid to North after family reunion talks

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Oct. 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will decide whether to give rice aid to
North Korea after assessing the progress made at planned talks on cross-border
family reunions, Seoul's unification minister said Thursday.

The remarks by Hyun In-taek came ahead of negotiations Friday between the Red
Cross offices of the two Koreas to set up a new round of reunions for families
separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. At issue has been whether Seoul will provide
rice aid in return for the reunions that Pyongyang has long been boycotting.
"It's not appropriate for me to comment yet because the North has yet to raise
the issue (of rice aid)," Hyun told reporters after a luncheon with European
business leaders in Seoul.
"Various issues will be put to discussion in the Red Cross meeting tomorrow, and
we have to see (the results)," he said.
Hyun's remarks indicated a somewhat softened stance by Seoul on food assistance,
which stopped after President Lee Myung-bak took office in Seoul last year
linking the aid to Pyongyang's denuclearization.
Hyun said Seoul is "not yet seriously considering high-level talks." The two
sides held working-level talks in the North's border town of Kaesong on Wednesday
to clear a dispute about a flood that occurred last month. Pyongyang expressed
regret over the incident, which claimed the lives of six South Koreans after the
North abruptly opened an upriver dam.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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