Seoul's unification ministry said that it is in talks with the UN agencies over details over the aid provision.

"There is no change in the government's stance that the supply of humanitarian aid should be handled separately from political situations. But Seoul will decide on the timing of the actual provision after taking various factors into account," Lee Eugene, vice spokesperson at the ministry, told a press briefing.

North Korea fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile which it claims is capable of carrying a "super-large heavy warhead" and putting the whole mainland of the US within its range.

Public opinion over the aid is divided amid concerns that the move may compromise international efforts to pressure Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs. (Yonhap)