North Korea, which lost more than 2 million people due to mass famine in the mid-1990s, is once again on the brink of a food crisis. Due to incessant heavy rains in the country since August 7, at the height of the harvest season, the main grain regions were flooded, more than 10% of agricultural crops were damaged. Bridges, roads and power lines were destroyed, 30 thousand houses were washed away, about 63 thousand families lost their homes, several hundred people died or went missing. The main impact of the disaster fell on the provinces of Pyongan-buk-do and Pyongan-namdo, and subway work in Pyongyang was interrupted. Rain is forecast to continue until at least August 17.
Reacting to Pyongyang’s request for help from the UN World Food Program (WFP), UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon assured: “The UN is ready to provide the necessary humanitarian support and help the government and people of the DPRK overcome difficulties.” According to WFP estimates, about 300 thousand people in the country need urgent food assistance. Seoul is ready to increase humanitarian aid - annually the southerners supply about 500 thousand tons of rice to the North. The US administration is also considering the issue of providing assistance to Pyongyang.
