The latest food aid from the United States to North Korea _ 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, will 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, according to Yonhap News.
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 remove it from 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.