S.Korea to help

S.Korea to help
N.Korea in farming

SEOUL: South Korea has agreed to work on joint farming
ventures with food-starved North Korea and to provide these farms
with fertilizer and other items to boost productivity, officials
said on Saturday.

The agreement was reached at two days of landmark talks that
wrapped up late Friday in the North's Kaesong City pledging to
pursue inter-Korean agricultural cooperation in a "stable and
steady" manner.

North Korea's socialist cooperative farms have been unable to
meet the food needs of the nation, which has been relying on
foreign aid to feed its 23 million people since 1995.

"The North and South will select cooperative farms in certain
areas and... execute joint projects there. These projects will be
expanded into other areas, depending on their results," the
agreement said.

And starting next year, the South would provide these farms
with facilities to raise saplings and other materials including
fertilizer, pesticide, machinery and animal feed as well as
technical assistance. -- AFP