Pyongyang demands massive aid from S.Korea

North Korea demanded massive food aid from South Korea Wednesday in return for concessions over a program to reunite families separated for six decades by war, a Seoul official said.

The demand for 500,000 tons of rice and 300,000 tons of fertilizer was made when the two sides met in the North Korean city of Kaesong to discuss reunions, media pool reports from Kaesong quoted the official as saying.

The South Koreans replied that this request should be discussed between the two governments rather than Red Cross officials, who are in charge of the reunion program.

A one-off meeting for families divided by the Korean War (1950-53) will start tomorrow and will last six days at the jointly run Mount Kumgang resort on the North's east coast.

It will link 100 people from each side with long-lost family members.

Seoul wants to hold the emotional events nine times a year because many elderly people die before realizing their dream of such a meeting.

"At the next round of talks, we will be able to discuss both issues in one sitting - the reunions and humanitarian projects, including rice and fertilizer aid," the official added.

Also Wednesday, South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan told reporters that North Korea has no fundamental change in its position on its nuclear program, urging Pyongyang to show its will for denuclearization through actions rather than words.

Agencies