Asahi Shimbun and various other Japanese news outlets reported yesterday that North Korea asked the U.S. at the end of last month to resume food aid negotiations, which had been on hold since Kim Jong Il’s death, and agree to provide grain instead of the high nutrition foods for vulnerable groups that have been offered by Washington to date.
It was the first formal contact between the Obama administration and the regime of Kim Jong Eun, Asahi reported.
Previously, as a result of talks on December 15th and 16th, 2011, the U.S. agreed to resume food aid to North Korea, but only the provision of milk, biscuits and vitamin and nutritional supplements for infants. These were to be provided to the tune of 20,000 tons per month for a year, a total of 240,000 tons. However, if the reports turn out to be true, North Korea has now reversed course.
The paper added that the U.S. rejected the initial North Korean call, reiterating its willingness to provide highly nutritious foodstuffs only, but leaving ajar the door to further discussion.
