An Enemy Bearing Gifts

A caravan of 370 trucks bearing rice, clothing and medical supplies arrived last week in the Demilitarized Zone that separates North and South Korea. The delivery fulfilled North Korea's pledge to send "relief aid" to the flood-ravaged South, where heavy rains have left 207,000 homeless and caused $200 million in damage. The convoy also marked a dramatic break in the history of bitterness between the two countries, which have had virtually no dealings with each other since the end of World War II.

The aid comes at an awkward time for South Korea. As the trucks were unloading, facilities for the 1988 Summer Olympics were being dedicated at a ceremony in Seoul. The North Koreans described their shipment as part of Leader Kim II Sung's new policy of promoting friendship, but a Japanese newspaper reported that North Korea had moved three new armored corps into position along the Demilitarized Zone. Said South Korean President Chun Doo Hwan: "North Korea's falsified peace offensives are always accompanied by sinister moves against the South."