Anchor: The South Korean government has decided to provide five-point-65 million dollars to the United Nations Children's Fund to help the vulnerable in the North. It will be the first time since 2009 for the South to aid the North through UNICEF. KBS World Radio's Kim In-kyung has more.

Report: The South Korean government will provide five-point-65 million dollars from its South-North Cooperation Fund to help North Korean children. The Ministry of Unification said Monday that the aid will be provided through the United Nations Children's Fund.

UNICEF will use the funds to vaccinate infants, children and pregnant women, and send over ten-thousand medical kits for children. It will also supply food and nutritional supplements for 270-thousand vulnerable North Koreans. The ministry expects about one-point-46 million infants, children and pregnant women in North Korea will benefit from the program.

In 2009, the South Korean government suspended aid through UNICEF to North Korea when inter-Korean relations became strained. The South donated over 20-point-nine million dollars to UNICEF from 1996 to 2009 to aid children in the North.

The government has also decided to grant two-point-66 billion won from the South-North Cooperation Fund to build a previously agreed-upon emergency medical facility inside the inter-Korean Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the North.

These measures are in line with the South Korean government's position to improve its relationship with the North since the appointment of Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik in September. Yu’s predecessor took a hard-line approach toward North Korea, and the new minister has pledged to be flexible in dealing with North Korea as a means to improve inter-Korean ties. During his visit to the U.S. last month, Minister Yu told UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon that the South Korean government would examine providing humanitarian support to North Korea through UN agencies. Last month, the government also approved the resumption of South Korean aid to North Korea through the World Health Organization.

Kim In-kyung, KBS World Radio News.