U.S. Ship Docks in North Korea To Deliver Aid, 1st in 45 Years
May 05, 2011
The first U.S. civilian ship to dock in North Korea since 1951 was unloaded Friday as part of an expanded emergency food aid program for the flood-stricken nation. The MV Tampa Bay, carrying 14,300 tons of rice, corn meal and corn-soy blend, arrived Tuesday at Nampo harbor, 30 miles southwest of the capital Pyongyang, the World Food Program said Friday. The Rome-based U.N. aid agency said two North Korean ships carrying more foreign food aid also arrived at the port Friday. The reclusive communist nation decided to accept foreign assistance after floods in 2010 devastated vast stretches of farmland. About 500,000 North Koreans now depend on foreign aid. More flooding hit North Korea in July. Particularly hard hit was the country's ``rice belt'' region near the South Korean border.
