U.N. WFP to begin delivering food aid to North Korea after severe flooding destroys crop lands

Aug 7 2012

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday reported that nearly 170 people have died, 400 people are missing, and more than 84,000 people are homeless because of severe flooding in the country, the Guardian reports, noting that the World Food Programme (WFP) "announced on Friday the details of its first batch of emergency food aid to the country, although it did not state when it would arrive" (8/4). "WFP said it would send emergency assistance comprising 'an initial ration of 400 grams of maize per day for 14 days,'" Reuters notes, adding the statement said a recent U.N. mission to North Korea found significant damage to crop fields.

According to a recent U.N. report, 7.2 million of the country's 24 million people are classified as "chronic poor," and one-third of the nation's children are stunted from malnutrition, the news service writes (Shim, 8/4). According to the U.N., "access to North Korea has improved during recent flooding, ... suggesting the country is seeking to ease its traditional isolation at least temporarily," another Reuters article writes (Farge/Miles, 8/3).