ANKARA

The South Korean government has allowed several humanitarian aid groups to contact North Korea for humanitarian purposes in an effort to resume civil-level inter-Korean exchanges, local media reported on Wednesday.

The unification ministry approved the proposal of two nongovernmental organizations to contact the North for humanitarian exchanges, according to Yonhap News Agency.

In 2023, the previous Yoon Suk Yeol administration had suspended the civil-level inter-Korean exchanges after rising tensions between the two neighbors.

A South Korean unification official said that the ministry will review similar requests from other private groups as part of efforts to foster a peaceful atmosphere through the reinstatement of civil-level communication and cooperation.

The latest development comes after President Lee Jae Myung pledged earlier this month to "stop the exhausting hostilities" with North Korea and resume inter-Korean dialogue and collaboration.

Lee, sworn in this month, has moved quickly to cool friction with the North. He also ended South Korea’s year-long propaganda loudspeaker campaign along the heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone. North Korea has reportedly silenced its loudspeakers as well.

On Tuesday, South Korea's nominee for the foreign minister, Cho Hyun, also vowed to work to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula by facilitating dialogue between North Korea and the US.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid