South Korea is considering sending troops to the Sudanese region of Darfur under the umbrella of United Nations peacekeeping forces.
El-Bashir was in Seoul earlier this week to attend an international conference held to commemorate the inauguration of the Korea-Arab Society. South Korea and Sudan established diplomatic ties in April 1977.
In April, Lee promised to secure overseas grain production bases to ensure stable grain supplies and provide food aid to the North.
Lee expressed concern over soaring international grain prices, which could harm South Korea because the country imports more than 70 percent of its food from overseas markets. He also said rising grain prices could deliver a critical blow to North Korea, which has already suffered from chronic food shortages.
South Korean officials said they are also considering leasing land in the Russian Far East or Southeast Asia. The Far East has some 2.6 million hectares of arable land that could produce 200,000 tons of rice and 2 million tons of corn and other grain annually, they said.
"In addition, North Korean labor can be used there and produce grain that can be directly shipped to North Korea due to the short transportation distance," an official said. There are 10,000 Korean residents in the Far East, some of whom could work for the farming project, he added.
