U..S. shipments to N. Korea grew in 2011

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (UPI) -- U.S. relief efforts targeting North Korea jumped about 500 percent in 2011, trade export figures from the Commerce Department show.

The department said the United States shipped $9.4 million worth of goods to North Korea in 2011, up from about $1.9 million the previous year and $0.9 million in 2009. In 2008, the United States sent about $52.2 million in goods to the communist country.

South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said Radio Free Asia reported 95 percent of the 2011 total was some form of aid for North Koreans, such food or basic household items, sent by private organizations.