SEOUL, July 7: South Korea on Friday put off indefinitely crucial food aid to North Korea in response to the impoverished state’s missile tests but said it would stand by its policy of engaging its neighbour.

“We promised to ship 100,000 tons of fertilizer aid to the North but we will shelve it. We will also put off 500,000 tons of rice aid until any breakthrough is made in the missile issue,” a senior official told journalists.

Seoul said earlier On Friday it will go ahead with ministerial talks with the North on July 11-14 in the southern port of Busan, the highest-level standing dialogue between the Koreas.

“It is hard to predict whether the North will come to the talks or not,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

South Korea in 2000 launched a “sunshine policy” to reconcile with its long-time adversary and has rejected US-led efforts to isolate the North.

President Roh Moo-Hyun’s government was left embarrassed Wednesday when Pyongyang fired seven missiles, including a new Taepodong-2 which is said to be able to hit Alaska or Hawaii but quickly crashed into the Sea of Japan (East Sea).

Seoul had urged the North against the tests but also downplayed weeks of US warnings of an imminent launch.

Roh told an emergency cabinet meeting on the missile issue On Friday that the South needed to keep channels of communication open.

“While we have to deal sternly with any wrong behaviour by the North, it is necessary for us to maintain the momentum of dialogue to engage Pyongyang and resolve pending issues diplomatically,” Roh said.

South Korea, which has already shipped 150,000 tonnes of fertilizer to the North this year, promised at the previous cabinet-level meeting in April to offer an additional 200,000 tonnes.

North Korea also requested 500,000 tonnes of rice at the cabinet-level meeting after South Korea supplied the same amount last year. Seoul had not yet responded to the request.

North Korea, which suffered a devastating famine in the 1990s, has relied for the past decade on outside help to feed its 23 million people.—AFP