US to announce deal with North Korea

The United States is poised to announce a significant donation of food aid to North Korea this week, the first concrete accomplishment after months of behind-the-scenes diplomatic contacts between the two wartime enemies.

An agreement by North Korea to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment programme will likely follow within days.

A broad outline of the emerging agreement has been made known to The Associated Press by people close to the negotiations.

Discussions have been taking place since summer in New York, Geneva and Beijing. They have already yielded agreements by North Korea to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile testing, readmit international nuclear inspectors expelled in 2009, and resume a dialogue between North Korea and South Korea, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of sensitivity of the negotiations.

The announcement of the food aid, expected to take place as early as today in Washington, not only would be welcome news for North Korea, but also pave the way for another crucial US-North Korea meeting in Beijing on Thursday.

That meeting in turn could lead within weeks to the resumption of nuclear disarmament talks that would also include China, Japan, Russia and South Korea.

The so-called six-party talks were last held three years ago, and resuming them would amount to a foreign policy coup for the Obama administration.

The US is expected to provide 240,000 tons of high-protein biscuits and vitamins - 20,000 tons a month for a year - but not much-wanted rice, according to reports in the South Korean media. It would be the first food aid from the US in nearly three years.

With little arable land and outdated agricultural practices, North Korea has long struggled to feed its people. Flooding and a harsh winter further destroyed crops. The World Food Program issued a plea earlier this year for US$218 million in humanitarian help to feed the most vulnerable.