SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's unification ministry said Friday that it will continue its humanitarian aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) regardless of political situations.
Unification Ministry deputy spokesperson Lee Eugene told a press briefing that the government's basic stance was to maintain humanitarian aid for the vulnerable group of people in the DPRK, including infants and pregnant women, regardless of political situations.
Tensions escalated on the Korean Peninsula after the DPRK's test earlier in the day of what was believed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
The DPRK missile flew about 3,700 km over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and fell in the waters in the North Pacific.
The deputy spokesperson said the inter-Korean exchange and cooperation committee will hold a meeting on Sept. 21 to discuss projects to provide humanitarian aid to the DPRK through international organizations under the UN.
According to local media reports, South Korea was considering 8 million U.S. dollars of humanitarian aid to the DPRK.
If approved, it would mark the first South Korean humanitarian aid to the DPRK since the new government under President Moon Jae-in was launched in May.
Seoul's aid to Pyongyang was suspended after the DPRK's fourth nuclear test in January last year.
On Sept. 3, the DPRK detonated what it claimed was a hydrogen bomb.
