Latest U.S. grain shipment to arrive in N.K. next month

SEOUL, Oct. 3 (Yonhap) -- The latest food aid from the United States to North Korea, comprising 25,000 tons of corn and other grains, is scheduled to arrive in the communist state next month, a U.S. radio station reported Friday.

The Mary-Ann Hudson, a U.S. cargo vessel which will carry 20,000 tons of corn and
5,000 tons of beans, is scheduled to depart from a port in Virginia next Thursday
and arrive at North Korea's western port of Nampo, Radio Free Asia reported,
citing an unnamed source close to the matter.
In June the U.S. started shipping the first batch of some 500,000 tons of food
aid it has pledged for the North to be delivered over a year-long period, while
the WFP has begun its own emergency program for the North.
The U.S. shipment comes amid mounting tension between the two countries after
North Korea abruptly announced last month that it will restart its nuclear
program, apparently in protest over Washington's refusal to take it off a
terrorism blacklist before a deal is reached on a verification protocol for the
North's nuclear declaration.
The decision to continue aid to the North is proof of Washington's willingness to
separate humanitarian issues from the nuclear debate, the source said.
Since the late 1990s, when an estimated one to three million North Koreans are
believed to have starved to death due to famine, the North has prioritized its
agricultural sector while accepting foreign aid to help feed its population of 23
million people.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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