The South Korean government has sent a 200-tonne consignment of mandarins to North Korea in the latest sign of the thawing of relations between the two countries.
A military transport plane departed from Jeju Island Airport to Pyongyang on Sunday on the orders of South Korean president Moon Jae In in a “signal of gratitude” for the two tonnes of pine mushrooms that Pyongyang sent to Seoul as a gesture of goodwill during the summit held by the two countries in September.
The Seoul Ministry of Defence said military planes flew to Pyongyang twice on Sunday and again on Monday to deliver a total of around 20,000 cartons of the fruit.
The mandarins represent the largest shipment of South Korean products to North Korean since 2010, when relations between the two nations broke down following North Korea’s attack on a South Korean warship in March of that year.
Seoul has insisted that the shipment does not violate international sanctions imposed on North Korea and stressed that the fruit is not subject to restrictions.
