Washington: The United States today insisted the arrival in North Korea of a first shipment of US food aid had no link to Pyongyang's long-awaited declaration last week on its nuclear programme.

"Look, there is zero linkage here," said Tom Casey, a State Department spokesman.

"Anyone asserting that there is a linkage either is extremely misinformed or malicious in intent."

A US ship carrying tens of thousands of tonnes of food arrived in North Korea yesterday, after the communist state authorised a big increase in overseas aid to its hungry people, the UN food agency said today.

The World Food Programme said in a statement it would in the future be able to feed more than five million people compared to the current 1.2 million.

It said a US-flagged ship arrived yesterday in the western port of Nampo carrying 37,000 tons of wheat, the first installment of 500,000 tonnes of food promised by Washington to the communist state earlier this year.

"We do not link food assistance, whether it is to North Korea or to Zimbabwe or any other country, to political considerations," Casey stressed.

"As far as I know, there is no one associated with the Six Party talks who had any say in this decision, any involvement in it, any participation in it," the spokesman added.

The United States on May 16 announced an agreement with North Korea to resume food aid in June as Pyongyang faces persistent shortages.

Source : PTI