The government plans to hold a joint consultative meeting with private sector officials within this month on providing aid to North Korea in the coming year.

A government official said the prospective meeting is aimed at taking stock of the support measures Seoul offered to Pyongyang last year and setting the course for this year.

The official said private sector-led aid measures would be the main agenda, but that government policies would be referred to as well.

The issue of how to assist Pyongyang's farming industry, in particular, and how to effectively divide roles between the South Korean government and private businesses in the aid process will also be discussed, following a Northern New Year's editorial that stressed agriculture development as the nation's foremost priority.