A Hong Kong charity will release US$300,000 (about HK$2.32 million) of emergency funds to buy more rice after a ship carrying food sank in the Taiwan Strait.
More than 900 of the 5,600 tonnes of rice on board the Cheng Da, a Chinese cargo vessel, had been paid for by Caritas-Hong Kong, a charity which has led world fund-raising efforts to buy food for North Korea.
The rest of the rice on board the ship was paid for by donations from the United States to the United Nations World Food Programme.
The Cheng Da sank in stormy weather on Tuesday.
The charity hopes to recover its money through the ship's insurers.
It was not clear last night how much money would be released by the UN for fresh rice supplies.
Speaking from Pyongyang, North Korea, yesterday, Caritas Hong Kong director Kathi Zellweger said another shipment was scheduled to leave Bangkok in about three weeks.