The government will provide financial support to international programs designed to help North Korean children and mothers.
 
Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Eui-do said in a news briefing Monday that Seoul will make financial contributions to the World Food Program and the World Health Organization.
 
The contributions will come from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund and amount to a total of 13-point-three million U.S. dollars.
 
The South Korean contribution will be used to supply food and medical necessities to North Korean infants and their mothers. It will also be used to implement medical education and technical training programs in the communist country.   
 
Seoul will deliver the contribution to the UN organizations as soon as the Inter-Korea Exchange and Cooperation Promotion Council approves the spending.
 
Some observers say the government’s decision is a follow-up to President Park Geun-hye’s proposals that she announced in Dresden, Germany earlier this year.
 
The ministry spokesman said that while the contribution is not exactly what the president outlined, it is closely related to the Dresden proposals, which include the provision of support to North Korean mothers and their children through international organizations.