S. Korea says no change in stance for humanitarian food aid to DPRK

South Korea's unification ministry in charge of inter-Korean relations said on Friday that there was no change in its stance for humanitarian food aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Lee Eugene, deputy spokesperson of the unification ministry, told a press briefing that there was no change in the position that it would be necessary to provide the food assistance for the DPRK from the humanitarian and philanthropic perspectives.

Lee noted that the South Korean government would push for the food aid plan while sufficiently collecting opinion from the general public.

The comment came a day after the DPRK fired off two unidentified projectiles, presumed to be short-range missiles, from its northwestern region. They traveled eastward about 420km and 270km at an altitude of 45-50km.

Days earlier, Pyongyang fired several short-range projectiles into the sea off its east coast. The projectiles flew between 70km and 240km at an altitude of some 60km.

During the phone talks with South Korean President Moon Jae-in Tuesday, US President Donald Trump expressed his support for Seoul's food aid plan, saying it would be very timely and positive, according to the presidential Blue House of South Korea.

The last South Korean food assistance to the DPRK happened in 2010 when 5,000 tons of rice was delivered to the DPRK.

The Moon government unveiled a plan in 2017 to provide US$8 million of humanitarian assistance to the DPRK through international organizations, but it had yet to be carried out amid international sanctions against Pyongyang.