Russian food aid arrives in North Korea

The North's official Korean Central News Agency said the aid arrived Monday via train to the northwestern city of Sinuiju. There were no details on the amount of food sent, which KCNA said was to be delivered through the World Food Program.

The food "is a token of the friendly relations between the peoples of the two countries and an encouragement to the Korean people," KCNA aid.

Russia is one of the North's allies and a member of six-nation disarmament talks that aim to persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons programs.

The North also late last month began receiving food aid from the United States sent via ship, part of 500,000 tons of American assistance pledged to the impoverished country. North Korea's state media have not yet mentioned the arrival of the U.S. aid, but had previously reported on Washington's promised help.

North Korea fails to produce enough food for its 23 million people, forcing the country to rely on outside aid. The usual shortages are expected to worsen this year due to floods last summer that caused heavy damage to key farming regions.

Famine in the 1990s is believed to have killed as many as 2 million North Koreans, caused by bad weather and outdated farming practices along with the loss of Pyongyang's Soviet benefactor.