NORTH KOREA REJECTS US FOOD AID

State Department spokesman Robert Wood said the North gave no reason for refusing to accept US food aid.

North Korea faces chronic food shortages and has relied on outside aid to help feed its 23 million people since famine reportedly killed as many as 2 million in the 1990s, a result of natural disasters and mismanagement.

The UN World Food Programme said earlier this month that North Korea "is soon to enter the critical 'lean season,' when food stocks from last year's harvest run low". High levels of malnutrition are anticipated in certain areas.

"We're obviously disappointed," Wood told reporters at the State Department. "Clearly, this is food assistance that the North Korean people need. That's why we're concerned. The food situation in North Korea is not a good one."

The North's decision adds to mounting tension as Pyongyang plans a rocket launch next month that Washington sees as cover for a long-range missile test. The North Korean launch is also seen as a bid for President Barack Obama's attention as six-nation nuclear disarmament talks remain stalled.

South Korean Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said in Seoul that he sees North Korea's rejection of US food aid as "an answer" to the international opposition to its plans to launch a rocket, and as a protest against joint US-South Korean military drills taking place now across South Korea.

"We've been taking notes on how North Korea views food aid from the US while the military drills are under way," Hyun, the Cabinet official in charge of relations with Pyongyang, told reporters.

Last May, the US said it would provide 500,000 metric tons of food to North Korea amid progress in nuclear negotiations, although Washington said the assistance was not related to the nuclear issue.

As part of that agreement, the US delivered 169,000 metric tons to North Korea, with the most recent shipment of 5,000 tons of vegetable oil and corn soy blend arriving in January, Wood said.