A senior government official says it's not yet time to resume rice and fertilizer aid to North Korea, which has been suspended since the North's missile test-launches in July.

Citing Pyongyang's October nuclear test and the recently resumed six-party talks, the official said Wednesday that humanitarian aid whether from the government or civic groups should be unconditional. But he added that rice and fertilizer aid is different as it is considered a commercial loan deal.

The official said the government has worked hard to improve inter-Korean ties but lacked a consistent unification diplomacy. He said Seoul needs to promote its unification policy to the world, which is biased against the communist state.