China decided to give North Korea a large amount of aid the day after Kim Jong-Il's death was announced, in a gesture of support for the incoming regime of his son, according to a Japanese newspaper.
At a December 20 meeting of senior officials chaired by President Hu Jintao, China decided to give 500,000 tons of food and 250,000 tons of crude oil to the isolated state, the Tokyo Shimbun reported from Seoul, citing unnamed sources.
China made the decision to "stabilise the new regime of Kim Jong-Un, the successor to general secretary Kim," the paper quoted one of its sources as saying.
It was not known if the aid had actually been transferred to the reclusive regime, the paper said.
South Korea's unification ministry, which handles cross-border affairs, declined to comment on the report.
China is wary of instability in North Korea, fearing a huge influx of hungry refugees over its land border if the state collapses.
Kim Jong-Il died on December 17 but his death was not announced until two days later.
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