Bags of fertilizer are being loaded onto North Korean cargo ships currently docked at South Korean ports.

Mates on one of the ships, "Botonggang," the name of a river in North Korea, said about 3,000 tons of fertilizer were loaded on Monday alone, and that the vessel expects to leave as early as Wednesday afternoon after loading the remaining 4,000 tons today.

A second ship at the southwestern port of Kunsan originally planned to finish loading the aid by Tuesday afternoon, but delayed its departure to early Wednesday morning after problems with port facilities.

At the port of Ulsan, the vessel, "Mount Paektu", named after the highest peak in North Korea, was reportedly having difficulties with the loading process as it is not a cargo vessel. Sources from the ship said they expect to leave late Wednesday night, if they continue to work throughout Tuesday night.

Seoul's Unification Ministry announced that North Korean vessels would cross the inter-Korean maritime border seven more times in order to finish the maritime delivery of some 82-thousand tons of fertilizer aid.