Russian Ship Carrying Food Aid Arrives at North Korean Port

A Russian ship carrying wheat as part of a humanitarian aid program reached the North Korean port of Nampo on Tuesday, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the UN humanitarian agency, the delivered of wheat will help meet the nutritional needs of over 620,000 women and children suffering from hunger in North Korea, for a period of four months.

“I would like to thank the Russian Government for this generous donation and its continued commitment. The Russian contribution is timely following a poor harvest after last year’s drought and comes at the end of the cold and harsh winter,” WFP’s Representative and Country Director in North Korea Darlene Tymo said, as quoted in the statement.

According to the statement, the wheat will be used to make fortified biscuits and a so-called cereal milk blend – a specially designed flour fortified with essential micronutrients, used in baking.

The wheat was procured by WFP on the basis of a Russian contribution of $ 4 million, it was noted in the statement. According to the UN agency, Russia has donated a total of $22 million to WFP in North Korea over the past five years.