N. Korea dismisses Seoul`s corn aid as `narrow-minded`

SEOUL, Nov. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korean media scorned South Korea's offer of
10,000 tons of corn aid as "narrow-minded" on Tuesday, though Pyongyang continued
to withhold an official response to the small-scale assistance proposed weeks
earlier.
The article published by Uriminzokkiri, the North's official Web site, cited
critics in the South who have blasted the limited offer worth about US$33
million.
The South Korean government is "making noise" about the corn offer, which is
"pitiful and narrow-minded behavior" that is shameful even to its own citizens,
the article said.
The remarks were the first North Korean response to the restricted aid offer
Seoul made on Oct. 26. The absence of an official reply has raised suspicions
here that Pyongyang may have been displeased by the limited amount.
Unification Ministry spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo said Seoul does not consider the
article as an official position from Pyongyang, as it is only a short unsigned
commentary.
"We will continue preparations to send the aid, believing North Korea will accept
it," Lee said.
The offered corn aid is only a fraction of the amount South Korea's previous
liberal governments have regularly given over the past decade -- an average
400,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of corn annually. Such state-level
assistance came to a halt when conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office
in Seoul last year, conditioning inter-Korean exchanges on progress in North
Korea's denuclearization.
hkim@yna.co.kr
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