VOA reports: Help is starting to reach hungry North Korea. A ship carrying tens of thousands of tons of grain from the United States has arrived at a North Korean port. The shipment follows a North Korean deal with the World Food Program to expand its reach in the country.

The American ship carrying 37,000 tons of wheat arrived Sunday in the North Korean port of Nampo. It is the first installment of half a million tons of food aid promised by the United States to the impoverished North.

Two days earlier, the United Nations World Food Program signed a new agreement with Pyongyang to bolster its presence in North Korea. Paul Risley, spokesman for the WFP's Asia operations, says the deal is great news for North Korea's malnourished population.