North Korean ships make rare visit to ports in South

ULSAN, South Korea - Three North Korean cargo ships began loading fertilizer on Monday in South Korea, the first time in more than two decades vessels from the reclusive state have visited Southern ports.

Seoul is sending the fertilizer to Pyongyang as humanitarian aid to help ease chronic food shortages.

South Korea agreed at rare bilateral talks with its neighbor last week to provide 200,000 tons of fertilizer, even as the South failed to persuade North Korea to resume negotiations on its nuclear programs.

The ships arrived at the weekend at three separate ports and are scheduled to set leave on Wednesday, a South Korean Unification Ministry official said.

The shipments are the first of 190,000 tons to be sent by sea before the end of June. Transport by road of the remaining 10,000 tons began on Saturday.

Pyongyang abruptly agreed on May 14 to hold talks with Seoul, nearly one year after breaking off all dialogue with the South in anger over Seoul's airlift of North Korean refugees from Vietnam.

Separate talks by North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China on ending Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions have been stalled since the last round of discussion was held in June 2004.

South Korean officials have said they hope the fertilizer would prompt Pyongyang to soften its hard-line stance about refusing to return to the talks on its nuclear programs. In February, North Korea said it had nuclear weapons and was boycotting the talks.

Some have criticized Seoul's farm aid, saying the fertilizer shipments are rewarding Pyongyang for its bad behavior.

- REUTERS