Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung says that there is much room to reconsider the shipment of rice aid to North Korea depending on circumstances at home and abroad.

He told a KBS radio show Monday that he expects movement some time this month on the delayed transfer of North Korean assets in Macao and the implementation of the six-party nuclear agreement.

He said that should the prospects for implementing the agreement be deemed completely hopeless, the government will rethink its provision of rice aid to Pyongyang.

He said that he also urged the North to implement the dismantlement steps during last week's inter-Korean ministerial talks.

However, on the joint inter-Korean project on light industry and natural resources which is set to begin from late this month, he said the project must go forward, calling such cooperation efforts separate from the rice aid issue.