SEOUL — South Korea is mulling providing US$8 million in aid to North Korea via two UN agencies, a Unification Ministry official said on Thursday.

A meeting among related government officials will be held next Thursday to decide on whether to offer the humanitarian assistance to those in need in North Korea, such as infants and pregnant women, the official said.

Under the envisioned plan, South Korea will provide $4.5 million for a World Food Programme project and $3.5 million for the UN International Children’s Fund.

If decided, it will be the government’s first provision of aid to North Korea since President Moon Jae-in took office in May.

The announcement, however, came just days after the 15-member UN Security Council unanimously adopted on Monday a resolution toughening sanctions against Pyongyang following its sixth nuclear test earlier this month.

The South Korean government has maintained the position that it would continue to offer humanitarian assistance to North Korea without tying it to the political situation.

On the heels of a series of ballistic missile launches by Pyongyang recently, tensions have escalated on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea announced on September 3 it had successfully tested a hydrogen bomb that can be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile. — KYODO