Deputy Unification Minister Lee Bong-jo met with the chief of the United Nation's World Food Program(WFP) James Morris on Friday to discuss Pyongyang's food supply situation and plans for further food aid.

The food agency chief asked for South Korea's consistent support, saying that 18 countries including the U.S., Japan and the E.U. have pledged 490,000 tons of food aid to be shipped to the impoverished state by year's end.

Lee expressed thanks for the relief agency's efforts, and said the Seoul government would also provide the North with 100,000 tons of corn before the year is up.

Morris arrived in Seoul Thursday for a three-day visit to raise relief funds for North Korea's food shortage.