North and South Korea talk food

Red Cross officials from North and South Korea have agreed in principle on the delivery of further aid to the North to help alleviate severe food shortages there, but have failed to finalise key details.

After three days of talks in Beijing, the two sides decided that the South should send fifty thousand tons of corn, blankets, and edible oil, starting in March.

But the South Koreans said the delivery could be held up by Pyongyang's refusal to allow full monitoring, which they've demanded to ensure aid is going to those in need and not to the military.

Aid agencies estimate that North Korea is facing a shortfall of more than a million tons of grain.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service