Six officials from a South Korean nongovernment organization entered North Korea yesterday to discuss humanitarian aid.
The Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea said the visit was in response to an invitation made by the North Korean office for the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation. The council has offices in both Koreas.
An official from the council said they requested permission to visit the North from the South Korean Ministry of Unification on May 16 and received it on Wednesday.
Six officials from the council, including the president of the council, Park Jong-chul, left for Kaesong yesterday to speak with their counterparts on humanitarian aid for North Korea and transparency on aid distribution in the North.
The South Korean government’s policy since last May is that all South Koreans must apply for permission to visit the North. The visit yesterday was the fourth that the Unification Ministry has given consent for visiting the North since last May, other than regular visits related to the Kaesong Industrial Complex or the Mount Kumgang resort.
Seoul has only recently allowed small amounts of humanitarian aid to cross the border for North Korea’s infants and children since last year’s provocations from the North.
By Christine Kim [christine.kim@joongang.co.kr]
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