Pyongyang: The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned that the Democratic People s Republic of Korea (DPRK-North Korea) is facing a potential food crisis owing to a low harvest resulting partly from last summer's heavy floods.
"The food security situation in the DPRK is clearly bad and getting worse," said WFP Regional Director for Asia, Tony Banbury. "It is increasingly likely that external assistance will be urgently required to avert a serious tragedy."
It is estimated that more than 6.5 million people in DPRK suffer from food insecurity, and that number is expected to increase unless the growing food shortages are addressed. In addition to the poor harvest, DPRK, like many other countries around the world, is trying to cope with the recent surge in food prices.
The prices of staple foods such as rice and maize have doubled in the capital, Pyongyang, over the past year and are now at their highest recorded levels since 2004. "The rapid rise in the real price of food for persons living in the DPRK confirms WFP's fears that the DPRK may suffer deeper and more widespread hunger this year," said Jean-Pierre de Margerie, WFP Country Director in Pyongyang.
"Now it takes a third of a month's salary just to buy a few days worth of rice. Families and especially vulnerable persons will suffer from lack of access to food, eat fewer meals and have a poorer diet, increasing their vulnerability to diseases and illness," he stated.
The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has predicted a food shortfall of 1.66 million metric tonnes in the country this year, almost twice the 2007 deficit and the highest since 2001.
