SEOUL, July 19 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is expected to soon allow civic groups to send flour and other supplies to needy North Koreans in what would be the first approval of flour aid since the North's deadly shelling of a southern island last November, according to civic groups and government officials Tuesday.

The South's Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC), a coalition of pro-unification civic and social groups, requested last week the Unification Ministry to provide 1,035 tons of flour and two tons of infant milk formula in aid to feed some North Koreans.