Download For many South Koreans the best way to beat the summer’s heat is a bowl of cold noodles. 

Naengmyeon, as its known, was originally a popular winter dish from North Korea, but was brought south by refugees during the Korean War. 

These days, more recent defectors have started opening up their own restaurants that specialize in naengmyeon and other culinary staples from back home. And some of them say food can help bridge the gap between the two Koreas.

From Seoul, reporter Jason Strother has the story.

Download South Korean civic groups are delivering hundreds of tons of flour to North Korea.

For the past year, most forms of cross border humanitarian aid had been banned, since Seoul blamed the north for sinking its navy ship in March 2010.

But the South Korean government still isn’t easing its own stance on providing relief, even as the European Union and other international groups prepare to send aid.

And some observers question if North Korea really is as hungry as it says it is.

Reporter Jason Strother was on hand to watch some of the aid depart for the north from a park just seven kilometers south of the Korean demilitarized zone.

Download The number of North Korean refugees reaching South Korea continues to rise. 

The current number of defectors now stands at 22,000 and Seoul’s Ministry of Unification predicts many more will come by the end of this year. 

But some advocates say refugees aren’t getting enough help to fully adjust to their new homes. 

And it’s not only the government that’s not supporting these new arrivals.

From Daegu, reporter Jason Strother has more.

Download Footage, smuggled out of the secretive and impoverished North Korean state shows even the army is struggling for food.

The footage was shot over several months by a North Korean man and shows images of filthy, homeless and orphaned children begging for food, soldiers demanding bribes, and people forced to build a railway for the heir-apparent Kim Jong-un.

Mark Willacy of Radio Australia reports.