A ship, carrying $1.2 million worth of the mineral, arrived at the port early Friday and workers began unloading the shipment shortly after 8 a.m., officials at the South-North Korea Exchange and Cooperation Support Association said.
"The shipment is the first repayment by North Korea to South Korea since the government began providing economic and humanitarian assistance in loans," an official at the Unification Ministry said.
South Korea agreed earlier this year to provide $80 million worth of raw materials for the impoverished North’s light industries, such as shoe and garment manufacturers.
Pyongyang will repay with its abundant natural resources and is supposed to pay back 3 percent or $2.4 million before the end of the year.
Story & Photo from Government Information Agency
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