North Korea's serious food shortage will bring on famine-like conditions again if immediate aid is not sent.

The head of the World Food Program's North Korea office on Monday told the BBC that no new assistance will mean cutting off support to 3.5 million civilians in the North.

The warning came as inter-Korean talks resumed in Gaesong.

South Korea offered an "important proposal" for the North's return to the six-way talks, saying it will result in substantial progress in resolving the nuclear issue.

BBC Seoul correspondent Charles Scanlon said the proposal will include more than economic aid and security guarantees that Seoul offered last year.