The Republic of Korea (ROK) Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul, the country's top policymaker in charge of inter-Korean affairs, told a televised press briefing Wednesday that his country will provide 50,000 tons of rice to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) through the World Food Program (WFP), the largest food and aid donation to UN aid programmes since 2008.

The minister said it would take around two months to deliver the country's homegrown rice to the DPRK through the WFP, following through on a promise to donate 4.5 million U.S. dollars to the WFP, noting that Seoul will make efforts to provide the rice as rapidly as possible. Officials were in touch with counterparts in the DPRK.

"This is the largest donation from the Republic of Korea to WFP DPRK since 2008 and will support 1.5 to two million children, and pregnant and nursing mothers," WFP senior spokesman Herve Verhoosel said in a statement, referring to his agency's operation in the DPRK.

The rice provision announcement came after Seoul approved a plan earlier this month to donate eight million U.S. dollars to the WFP and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for humanitarian food aid to the DPRK.