North Korea asked for rice and cement aid from South Korea before announcing the release of a South Korean boat seized last month for illegal fishing, according to Seoul.
The Unification Ministry said the request for rice, cement and heavy construction equipment was made Saturday in reply to an offer by the South's Red Cross to provide 10 billion won (8.3 million dollars) in flood aid.
"If the South is to send flood aid, it will be better that resources and equipment needed for recovery from flood damage be sent along with rice," the North's message was quoted as saying by ministry spokesman Chun Hae-Sung.
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Chun said Seoul is considering the North's request.
Cross-border relations have been icy since Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing of one its warships in March, killing 46 people. The North denies the charge.
However, the South's Red Cross offered the North the 10-billion-won aid following severe floods in the country's northwest.
It offered to ship instant noodles, bottled water, medication and other daily necessities but rice, cement and heavy construction equipment were not included.
North Korea announced Monday it would release on Tuesday the fishing boat and its seven crew -- four South Koreans and three Chinese -- seized on August 8 off the east coast of the divided peninsula.
Seoul has in recent years supplied the North with massive annual rice and fertiliser aid. This was suspended in 2008 as relations worsened after conservative President Lee Myung-Bak took office in Seoul.
