North Korea Food Supply Imperiled by Drought, UN Says
Most of the population for months has received below-recommended food rations, and it may get worse, the UN warns.
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North Korea’s already-low food supplies are about to get worse after poor rainfall in the past year slashed the nation's critical rice crop, the United Nations said.
At least 70 percent of North Korea’s population, or about 18 million people, already rely on the government as their main source of food grain and for months has received well below the targeted daily ration, UN’s Food & Agriculture Organization said in a report Wednesday. The country will need to import almost 700,000 metric tons of grain to meet its needs this year, but government purchases are only expected to reach 300,000 tons, the report said.