"On Wednesday morning an IL-76 cargo plane delivered 25 tons of humanitarian aid to Pyongyang," Russia's emergency situations ministry said.
The spokesman said that a second aircraft loaded with 28.5 metric tons of baby food, sugar and humanitarian aid left for North Korea at 8 a.m. Moscow time (4 a.m. GMT).
The humanitarian aid includes tents, 25 metric tons of rice, 10 metric tons of sugar, 3 metric tons of baby food, as well as canned meat and milk products with a total weight of 53 metric tons estimated at $150,000.
Russia's government has earmarked a total of $300,000 to help North Korea following the recent flooding in the country that left hundreds dead, displaced some 300,000 and destroyed a sizeable portion of the country's crops.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov has charged the government with studying options for a $3 million increase in Russia's annual contribution to the World Food Organization to help North Korea purchase grain.
Currently, Russia's contribution to the WFO totals $11 million.
