The aid is "to help relieve the suffering of the North Korean people despite our concerns about the North Korean government's policies," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher.

He said another reason for the aid was Pyongyang's decision to allow greater monitoring and evaluation of its food distribution and security, although North Korea had not met global standards for humanitarian access.

"We remain committed to contributing food aid to help meet urgent humanitarian needs," Boucher said, dismissing suggestions that the aid might be aimed at influencing multilateral negotiations for North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal.

"It's our desire to help the North Korean people, if that -- how can I say -- if that impresses the North Koreans and makes them adopt a more favorable attitude, then that's good," he said. "But our intention is to help the people and not to try to affect the talks."

The United States does not have diplomatic relations with North Korea and has been locked in a 20-month standoff with Pyongyang over its nuclear weapons programs.

Washington is currently engaged in six-party talks with North Korea, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea to resolve the nuclear crisis in the Korean peninsula.

North Korea is demanding rewards, including energy aid and a non-aggression pledge, in return for a freeze of its nuclear arms program.

Earlier this week, Washington gave permission to two North Korean diplomats based at the United Nations in New York to travel to Washington for a conference on peace and security in the Korean peninsula.

Boucher said Friday the United States was informed by the World Food Programme that over the past six months the North Koreans allowed an increased number of monitoring visits to food distribution sites in the reclusive Stalinist state.

Pyongyang also allowed more frequent evaluation of family food security conditions, he said.

"However, North Korea still falls short of meeting international standards for humanitarian access that are accepted by other recipients of international food assistance," he said.

The United States, he said, planned to continue to discuss with North Korea and with the World Food Programme and other donor countries the need for better access.

Funding for the latest food aid will come from the US Agency for International Development with the mix of commodities to be determined soon in consultations with the World Food Programme.

Boucher said the aid was in response to a global appeal from the World Food Programme for 484,000 tonnes of food to meet urgent needs in North Korea during calendar year 2004.

The World Food Programme distributes most of the food to needy children and pregnant and nursing women.

Last year, the United States gave a total of 100,000 tonnes of aid to North Korea -- less than the 207,000 tonnes in 2002 and 350,000 tonnes the previous year.

The amount is based on appeals for help and three key criteria: "demonstrated need, competing needs elsewhere, and the donor's ability to access all the vulnerable groups and to monitor distribution," Boucher said.

In April, the United States contributed 100,000 dollars in response to a global appeal for emergency aid for North Korean victims of a train explosion that left at least 150 people dead and 1,300 injured at Ryongchon near the Chinese border.

WAR.WIRE