MOSCOW - Russia's United Grain Company (OZK) has sent two shipments of food aid to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the state-owned company said in a Monday statement.

According to the statement, the grain aid has been sent by eight cargo vessels since August 20. The first batch of 25,000 tons of aid has already arrived in DPRK, while the second shipment of 24,500 tons left Russian port of Novorossiysk on Sunday.

In accordance with a decree issued by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on July 27 and a following government decision, Russia would supply DPRK with 50,000 tons of grain in humanitarian aid.

Earlier, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the delivery of food aid will end in September, and Russia regards this humanitarian operation as "a contribution to the traditionally neighborly relations between people of the two countries."