The Unification Ministry on Monday approved the shipment of 300 tons of flour to North Korea by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation and the Catholic Church of Korea. It was the first time since North Korea's artillery attack against Yeonpyeong Island in November last year that the government approved the shipment of food to North Korea by an aid organization.

The Unification Ministry also offered to hold working-level talks at Mt. Kumgang on Friday over the resumption of tours to the scenic mountain resort.

The decisions have led to speculation that the government is sending signs to North Korea that it wants improve relations and resume dialogue. They follow a meeting between the North and South Korean foreign ministers on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bali, Indonesia on Friday. Some wonder whether the government is switching strategies after it banned most trade with North Korea in the wake of the North's sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan last year.

But the Unification Ministry denies this. A ministry official said the speculation was prompted by the "coincidence" of the approval of flour aid and offer of Mt. Kumgang talks with the inter-Korean me eting in Indonesia. And ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters, "The government's position is that North Korea must show a sincere shift in attitude about the sinking of the Cheonan and shelling of Yeonpyong Island for inter-Korean relations to improve and for peace to take root on the Korean peninsula. There is no change in this stance."