S. Korea to resume aid to N. Korea

SEOUL, July 26 (UPI) -- South Korea said Saturday it will resume humanitarian aid to North Korea that had been suspended in April after Pyongyang launched a long-range missile.

The Unification Ministry said a meeting has been scheduled next week with 10 non-profit organizations, Yonhap news agency reported. The groups applied to participate in a program in which the government would match funds they put up for assistance to North Korea.

The Unification Ministry spent $21.5 million on humanitarian assistance to North Korea in the first four months of this year, less than 2 percent of the annual budget for that purpose, the report said.

Relations between the two Koreas, which have been strained since Lee Myung-bak became president last year, worsened with the rocket launch and deteriorated further with a North Korean nuclear test in May.

The decision to resume aid suggests South Korea hopes to improve relations and get negotiations moving again on North Korea's nuclear program.