The U.N. food aid agency said Thursday that its aid to North Korea’s vulnerable people dropped 44 percent last month because of a lack of funds.
A World Food Program spokesman said the organization in September provided 2,105 tons of food to 742,000 people who depend on external assistance, including pregnant women and children.
Last month’s amount was also significantly less than what the U.N. agency planned to provide. The agency’s goal was to provide 10,000 tons of food to 1.8 million people every month.
Recently, the agency scaled down distribution areas to 69 counties and cities across the country.
“The main reason for distributing less food in September was insufficient funding resources,” wrote Damian Kean, WFP’s regional communications officer, in an email to VOA.
To fund projects this year, the agency needs about $167.8 million, but it has secured only half of the amount so far, according to the agency’s website.
The food aid cut came as the communist country has been reducing food rations. Last month, North Korea distributed an average of 250 grams of daily rations per person, a 21 percent decline from a three-year average, according to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization. The figure was less than half of the minimum amount recommended by the U.N. FAO officials blamed poor crop production caused by drought for the cut.
Experts warn that North Korea could face further food shortages next year.
“North Korea has not imported enough food this year, nor did it get significant aid,” said Kwon Tae-jin, an economic analyst in Seoul who specializes in North Korea’s agriculture.
The FAO said North Korea needs 421,000 tons of food from the outside world by the end of the month to feed its citizens this year.
Jee Abbey Lee contributed to this report, which was produced in collaboration with the VOA Korean service.
