The Unification Ministry said a South Korean civic group sent 20 tons of sweet potatoes worth 52 million won to North Korea late last month.
 
In a regular news briefing on Monday, Unification Ministry spokesman Lim Byeong-cheol said the sweet potatoes were provided as humanitarian aid for infants in Sinuiju.
 
The spokesman noted that the crop does not fall into the banned grain category, noting it is hard to divert sweet potatoes to other purposes.
 
The government has banned the provision of grain to North Korea out of fear the North could redirect the aid for military purposes. It has only approved the provision of processed foods, such as ingredients for nourishing food for pregnant women or infants.
 
Meanwhile, the government also approved another civic group’s aid plan for the North last month. The Seoul government plans to resume aid through civic groups using the inter-Korean cooperation fund in five years. It plans to spend some three billion won from the fund for 13 civic groups’ aid programs.