Seoul: South Korea will simplify the import procedures for North Korean processed food in an effort to help resume inter-Korean trade at the private level, the unification ministry said Friday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the unification ministry, in consultation with other government agencies, has drawn up revisions to the enforcement decree related to inter-Korean exchange and other regulations. This move aims to facilitate the import of North Korean processed foods. Ministry officials have outlined that under the revised measure, importers will now be required to submit import documents at the import approval stage. This change is intended to prevent delays that have often occurred when importers failed to meet import declaration requirements even after obtaining approval.

The new laws will also permit importers to use alternative documents when registering production facilities with the food safety agency. This replaces the need for the government documents that are generally required from exporting countries. The revisions take into account the current suspension of inter-Korean relations, which makes it highly challenging for importers to acquire documents from Pyongyang.

Additionally, under the new regulations, on-site safety inspections of production facilities will be replaced with precision safety inspections of the imported North Korean foods upon their arrival in South Korea. The unification ministry plans to finalize the revisions and enact them before their implementation, which is set to begin in February.

A unification ministry official expressed that the revisions are designed to "lay the institutional foundation" for the import of North Korean foods, and pledged efforts to revive inter-Korean trade at the private level.