SEOUL, Sept. 18 (Yonhap) -- Two South Korean private aid groups plan to send flour to flood-stricken North Korea this week, following the North's refusal last week to accept government flood aid from the South.

   The Unification Ministry said Tuesday it has accepted an application from Christian charity group World Vision to send its personnel to the North Friday to deliver 500 tons of flour.

   Having already approved the shipment of the flour, the ministry plans to permit the aid workers to make the trip to North Korea, officials said.

   Separately, the Korea NGO Council for Cooperation with North Korea, an association of more than 50 private groups, also plans to send 500 tons of flour to the North and is scheduled to send its personnel to the North later this week as soon as the North sends an invitation, the officials said.

   In the same briefing, the ministry said the government will resume its provision of encephalitis vaccine to North Korean children this year after the humanitarian program was suspended for the past two years due to high tension between the two Koreas.

   The humanitarian aid worth 2.4 billion won (US$2.1 million) will be sent to North Korean children via the Seoul-based International Vaccine Institute, it added.

   pbr@yna.co.kr
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