Rival Koreas Agree To Send Rice To North

The two rival Koreas reached tentative agreement Sunday on sending 150,000 tons of free rice to the impoverished North, news reports said.

The shipments from South Korea could begin as soon as this week.

The meetings in Beijing were the first official contact between the longtime enemies in 15 months. Officials of both Korean embassies denied the negotiators were in Beijing even as they met.

Negotiators could not be reached for comment after Sunday’s talks, but South Korea’s SBS television network reported that North Korea agreed to accept the South’s offer to send rice to combat the North’s massive food shortage.

South Korea was also expected to approve the North’s request for another 150,000 tons of rice, SBS said.