North Korea’s launch of a ballistic missile on Wednesday further jeopardized the South Korean government’s plan to provide humanitarian aid to the reclusive state through international organizations.

The South’s Unification Ministry had approved a plan on Sept. 21 to offer $8 million to the World Food Programme and the United Nations Children’s Fund for a project on nutrition and vaccine provisions. 

The ministry has said that the timing of the delivery will be decided upon consideration of the overall situation regarding inter-Korean relations.

The ministry’s spokesman Baek Tae-hyun repeated the stance in a press briefing on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a South Korean delegation led by Vice Unification Minister Chun Hae-sung was to meet with UNICEF officials in New York on Thursday to discuss humanitarian aid to the North.

The UNICEF said in an email sent to Voice of America that UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director Omar Abdi and Director of Emergency Programs Manuel Fontaine were set to meet with the South Korean delegation to talk about their overall collaboration, the US broadcaster reported.

The meeting was being held at the request of the South Korean government, UNICEF said, adding that it will be an important opportunity to discuss cooperation between Korea and UNICEF on UNICEF’s humanitarian project for children around the world.

Chun was also scheduled to visit the New York headquarters of the United Nations Population Fund on Thursday.

The ministry has said it was “positively” considering the UNFPA’s request for $6 million to assist its survey of the North Korean population.

The UNFPA told VOA that it didn’t have specific information about Chun’s visit, and that nothing has been decided on its survey of the North Korean population as the funds have not been secured yet.

The latest North Korean missile test marked the first of its kind in 75 days and the 11th since the Moon Jae-in administration took office in May.

Controversy over South Korea’s plan to offer aid to the North has continued as Pyongyang raised the level of its provocations.

Seoul announced that it was considering providing humanitarian aid to the North on Sept. 14, two days after the United Nations Security Council adopted a new sanctions resolution in response to the North’s sixth nuclear test. On Sept. 15, the North fired a Hwaseong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile.

The South Korean government, nevertheless, approved the $8 million aid plan the following week, saying that humanitarian aid was separate from politics.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)