The country's aid to North Korea has surpassed 1.5 trillion won over the past ten years.

The Unification Ministry on Saturday said that between 1995 and the end of last month, the government sent 940 billion won in assistance and civic organizations 570 billion won.

South Korea sent the most aid last year with 300 billion won and the least in 1996 with 3.6 billion won.

State assistance for the North peaked in 2000 with 94.4 billion won.

Forty-six percent of the aid went to the North's general relief, 43 percent to agricultural reconstruction and eleven percent to health and medication.

This year, however, 74 percent of the money was spent on agricultural reconstruction due to the rise in fertilizer aid.