South Korea ponders food aid to North Korea

South Korea on Wednesday stated it has no intention of resuming food aid to North Korea, and denied a news report saying that it has decided to follow United States's move to provide assistance to the impoverished nation, reports Yonhap news agency.

"We have to look at the WFP report first. I understand that the U.S. has not made any decision on that either," a South Korean official said on condition of anonymity.

Other sources in the government said Seoul plans to consider the possibility of providing limited humanitarian assistance to the North after taking a look at the upcoming WFP report, though large-scale aid carrying political meaning won't be possible.

Food aid to the North has been a focus after Pyongyang asked Washington to resume assistance earlier this year. Officials from the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization conducted an on-site inspection of the food situation in North Korea earlier this month. The team is expected to release a report on its findings as early as this weekend.