The Unification Ministry has approved five private organizations to give medial and nutritional aid to North Korea.
 
The ministry said Monday it signed off on the roughly one-and-a-half billion won worth of aid for infants and children in the North.
 
The last time the government approved private aid to North Korea was in March when it allowed Eugene Bell Foundation to deliver medication for 500 tuberculosis patients.
 
On Sunday, Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae unveiled that Seoul will provide six million dollars for North Korean humanitarian projects. UNICEF will supply vaccines for North Korean children and pregnant women as one of the projects.
 
A ministry official said the government approved the private aid since the items are essential to vulnerable North Koreans.