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| ▲ This undated file photo shows officials from a charity organization helping North Korea examine relief products. (Yonhap) |
Koreas-exchange
S. Korea approves civic groups' bid for N. Korean contact for humanitarian aid exchanges
SEOUL, June 25 (Yonhap) -- The government has granted permission for several civic groups to contact North Korea for humanitarian purposes in an effort to resume civil-level inter-Korean exchanges that had effectively been suspended during the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
Last Thursday, the unification ministry approved proposals by two nongovernmental organizations to contact the North for humanitarian exchanges, followed by additional approval Tuesday for the Foundation of Inter-Korean Cooperation for a cultural exchange.
It marked the first time that the ministry has permitted inter-Korean contact for civilian exchanges since the last humanitarian aid plan was exceptionally approved in August 2024 under the Yoon administration following flood damage in the North.
Departing from the Yoon government's hard-line policy on North Korea, President Lee Jae Myung has pledged to ease hostilities and resume dialogue with the North in an effort to reduce military tensions and build peace.
Under Yoon, civil-level inter-Korean exchanges effectively came to a halt in late 2023 amid rising tensions between the Koreas and military provocations by Pyongyang.
A unification ministry official noted the permission was granted as part of efforts to foster a peaceful atmosphere through the reinstatement of civil-level communication and cooperation, adding that the ministry will proactively review similar requests from private groups.
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