Without new aid, UN food agency will have to cut rations to millions in DPR of Korea

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that without new donations, it will have to slash assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), leaving nearly 8 million citizens there without adequate rations.

A WFP spokeswoman in Geneva said that the agency has not been able to deliver cereal rations to 4 million people - including vulnerable women and children - in the country as the supply for February and March from the United States and the Russian Federation did not arrive in time.

Another 3.8 million persons will not be able to receive their rations starting in September unless there is a new influx of goods, making it urgent that WFP receive contributions quickly, Christiane Berthiaume told the press. It takes three to four months for boats carrying food to reach the DPRK.

With the start of winter, Koreans need 2,300 kilocalories daily, she added. The agency had been providing 900 kilocalories worth of cereals to the vulnerable population, and the rest was made up from public Korean distributions. The new delays will leave 4 million people living on half rations during the bitter cold winter.