A special adviser to President Moon Jae-in on foreign affairs and national security said South Korea can provide aid to North Korea that doesn’t violate UN sanctions, even if the U.S. opposes it.

In an interview with Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper published Thursday, Moon Chung-in suggested providing food and medical aid and allowing individual South Korean tourism. 

He said that Seoul could do this even if Washington opposes, stressing that the alliance should lead to mutual national interests.

Moon said South Korea can respond to recent North Korean actions in one of three ways: stably managing conditions to prevent war, adopting a hard-line approach, or seeking a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, even if it means confronting the U.S.