Unification Minister Chung Dong-young says Seoul will start providing substantial and comprehensive aid to North Korea the moment the impoverished state begins to discard its nuclear ambitions.

Chung, who is visiting Germany ahead of heading to Davos, Switzerland to attend the 2005 World Economic Forum as a special presidential envoy, made the remarks on Saturday.

Chung said once the stalled South-North discussions resume, Seoul will seek inter-Korean cooperation in the agriculture sector. He added that in the event Pyongyang returns to the six-way nuclear talks, Seoul will promote multilateral cooperation in the energy sector which is considered to be a key to resuscitating North Korea’s economic recession.

The Unification Ministry said that Chung’s proposal for comprehensive aid toward the North is a reiteration of remarks made by President Roh Moo-hyun last year. Last June, during a ceremony marking the fourth anniversary of the unprecedented inter-Korean summit, Roh said that Seoul plans to provide aid to the North’s energy sector as well as expand the transportation infrastructure as part of efforts to revive the slow economy.