South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul announces about the government's latest food aid to the North at the Government Complex Seoul in the city's Jongno District, Wednesday. Yonhap

South Korea said Wednesday it will send 50,000 tons of rice in aid to North Korea via a U.N. agency as part of efforts to help the impoverished state cope with its worsening food shortages.

The aid will be transported by the World Food Programme (WFP), which will also be in charge of its distribution and necessary monitoring in North Korea, according to the unification ministry.

It marks the first time for South Korea to provide rice to North Korea since 2010, when it sent 5,000 tons to support its efforts to recover from flood damage. It will also be the first time Seoul has sent locally harvested rice to the North through an international agency.

"In close cooperation with the WFP, the government decided to provide 50,000 tons of domestically grown rice to the North Korean people in need," Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul told reporters during a press briefing. "We expect the food assistance to be delivered to the North Korean people as soon as possible."

"The timing and scale of additional food assistance to North Korea will be determined in consideration of the outcome of the aid provision this time," Kim added.

The minister noted that the government will do its best to deliver the aid by the end of September.