Last Updated: Thursday, 5 April 2007
S Korea pledge on North food aid http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6528923.stm
[South Korea is a major aid donor to the impoverished North]
South Korea will give rice aid to North Korea even if Pyongyang misses an imminent deadline to shut down a key nuclear plant, a top official has said.
Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang said that while aid and the nuclear freeze remained linked, "either of them can come half a step earlier".
North Korea asked Seoul for 400,000 tonnes of rice aid at talks last month.
The comments come a day after top Asian diplomats voiced doubt that Pyongyang would meet the 14 April deadline.
Under the landmark 13 February agreement, North Korea agreed to shut down and seal its Yongbyon reactor within 60 days in return for energy aid and other incentives from the US, China, South Korea, Japan and Russia.
'Don't lose momentum'
But a dispute over $25m (£13m) of funds frozen in a Macau bank has already caused a delay, with March's round of talks ending without progress.
[N KOREA NUCLEAR DEAL
N Korea to 'shut down and seal' Yongbyon reactor, then disable all nuclear facilities In return, will be given 1m tonnes of heavy fuel oil
N Korea to invite IAEA back to monitor deal
Under earlier 2005 deal, N Korea agreed to end nuclear programme and return to non-proliferation treaty
N Korea's demand for light water reactor to be discussed at "appropriate time"]
[End of confrontation? Q&A: Nuclear standoff]
China's nuclear negotiator Wu Dawei said on Wednesday that there was "a gap of a certain size" between the US and North Korea on the funds issue that was likely to disrupt the agreed timetable.
But Mr Shin said the likely delay would not affect Seoul's decision to resume vital food aid to the North.
"The momentum for inter-Korean development should not be lost," he said.
The two Koreas are set to hold economic talks in Pyongyang from 18-21 April. Mr Shin said that a final decision on how much rice to send would be made then.
Seoul suspended shipments of rice and fertiliser after Pyongyang's missile tests in July 2006.
But it agreed to resumed deliveries of fertiliser in mid-March, a month after the nuclear deal was agreed.
South Korea is a major donor of food aid to the impoverished North.