The government may announce its position as early as next week on the U.N. World Food Program’s request for South Korea to send food aid to the North.

Opinions within the government are split on the issue. Some insist on sending the aid as soon as possible, citing poor food situations in the North. Others are opposed, pointing out that the shooting of a South Korean tourist at the North’s Geumgang resort remains unresolved.

In a news conference in Beijing on Tuesday, the World Food Program urged South Korea and others to take part in its emergency relief efforts for the impoverished country.