South Korea said Wednesday it has earmarked 544.8 billion won (470 million U.S. dollars) for humanitarian assistance for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) this year.

The Unification Ministry, which oversees inter-Korean relations, set aside some 15 billion won of the budget specifically for disaster responses and environmental cooperation between the two countries.

The ministry increased the budget for food and fertilizer aid to the DPRK by 20 billion won, although South Korea's Lee Myung- bak administration suspended a free flow of food aid as the conservative president took office in 2008.

Cross-border ties reached their lowest ebb in 2010 after two deadly border conflicts prompted Seoul to sever almost exchanges with Pyongyang.

Amid tension on the divided peninsula, the Lee administration last year executed a mere 4.2 percent of the inter-Korean cooperation fund, the smallest-ever amount of in a decade.