The government has decided to delay food aid to North Korea until a six-way nuclear dismantlement agreement from February is implemented.

An official said the government had announced to Pyongyang in the previous round of inter-Korean economic talks that implementation of the February agreement will affect the timeframe for the 400-thousand ton rice shipment, and that it still stands by those principles.

It is said that Seoul has yet to take the initial steps for sending food aid to the North.

Accordingly, it appears that North Korea will not be able to collect rice shipments from the South until it receives its funds from a bank in Macao and then carries out the first steps toward nuclear dismantlement as agreed.