The government has approved a request by civic groups to contact North Korea to provide humanitarian assistance in connection with last month's flooding along the Amnok River.

During a briefing on Friday, the Ministry of Unification's deputy spokesperson Kim In-ae said, the government decided that it's important for North Korean residents affected by flood damage to return to their daily lives as soon as possible.

Kim added that despite the current state of inter-Korean relations, Seoul has decided to allow the civic groups to contact the North so they can provide flood relief.

Earlier this month the government proposed supporting flood recovery efforts in North Korea through the Korean Red Cross, and other civic groups responded with offers to provide humanitarian assistance.

However, Pyongyang is currently rejecting Seoul's proposal as well as offers of assistance from China and international organizations.