S. Korea gives nod for first aid group trip to North since nuke test

(ATTN: UPDATES with World Vision staff quote, more background)
By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, July 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea on Friday greenlighted a request by aid
workers to visit North Korea, the first such approval since the communist state's
nuclear test in May.

Seoul placed a blanket ban on non-governmental cross-border trips after the
nuclear blast, effectively freezing humanitarian aid projects as well as social
and cultural exchanges with the North. Its first approval in nearly two months
was given to World Vision, a multinational aid organization.
"The decision was made based on the government's position that humanitarian
assistance to North Korea should be continued," Unification Ministry spokesman
Chun Hae-sung said in a briefing.
A group of seven World Vision staff and agricultural experts will begin an
eight-day trip on Saturday, during which they plan to visit potato seedling farms
the organization operates in Pyongyang and several provincial towns, said Kim
Hye-young, a member of the team.
"We couldn't go in June and July, but it's better late than never," Kim said.
Seoul has recently shown signs of flexibility over humanitarian aid to North
Korea. The ministry is currently reviewing funding requests from about 10 aid
organizations, after suspending such financial support after North Korea's
lon