North Korea faces a serious food shortage because the country probably won't meet its agricultural production target for this year, the World Food Program (WFP) warned yesterday.
"My sense is that we have a crisis in front of us that requires the international community to respond and provide resources so that we can do our work," said James Morris, executive director of the UN agency.
North Korea has relied on foreign aid to feed its 23 million people since disclosing in the mid-1990s that its government-run farm system had collapsed. A resulting famine is believed to have killed some 2 million people. The WFP tries to feed about 6.5 million North Koreans -- more than a quarter of the population.
Morris said the country had forecast growth of 3 percent in farm production this year, a figure the agency doubts will be achieved.
"Our conversations with people throughout the country suggest that's not likely to materialize," Morris said. "Earlier this year, the price of maize and wheat was increasing rapidly."
Morris said rising food prices, the government's limited experiments with market reforms as well as reduced aid from overseas have all aggravated the food crisis in North Korea.
The reforms, which include allowing farmers to sell part of what they grow, "have had some positive impact on small farmers but a very negative impact on people in urban areas and people who work in industrial areas," Morris said.
While the market price of produce has shot up, wages have stayed the same for city dwellers and factory workers, he said.
In addition, the amount of livestock managed by North Korean households declined from last year, and the WFP noted a substantial increase in people foraging and gathering wild food, nuts and roots in May and June, Morris said.
Morris said there is evidence that the overall situation in North Korea has got better in recent years, citing "astounding progress" in child nutrition.
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