The South Korean Red Cross on Thursday sent a message to its North Korean counterpart offering to ship emergency aid to flood victims in the Stalinist country.  

"We've decided to send emergency flood aid to North Koreans residents suffering in the aftermath of floods for humanitarian reasons," a Red Cross spokesman said. "The aid will consist of food like instant noodles and potable water, daily necessities and medicine. The scale of the aid will be determined depending on North Korean response and the extent of the damage."  

No rice aid is included, a government official said. Apparently the Red Cross offer came after a formal request for emergency aid the North made to the UN on Tuesday.

Government officials said the aid does not mean a shift in the government's North Korea policy. They added additional aid may be possible if North Korea asks for it.

A ruling-party official said the government has decided on principle not to link humanitarian aid with conflict over North Korea's sinking of the Navy corvette Cheonan, "but we won't provide aid to the North independently unless the North Korean authorities request it."