N. Korea among 44 countries in need of external food support: FAO

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is one of 44 countries in need of external food assistance, a U.N. food agency said Friday, as the communist country is reportedly struggling with chronic food shortages.

According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on global food situations, North Korea remained on the list of countries in need of outside help for the third straight year.

North Korea has claimed that it achieved a bumper crop last year, but it is known to have been suffering for years from shortages of food caused by unfavorable weather conditions and international sanctions hampering imports of fertilizer and other key farming materials.

Last April, the FAO and the World Food Programme jointly conducted a survey of food situations in the North and said that around 40 percent of the North's population of some 25 million was estimated to be "food insecure."

kokobj@yna.co.kr
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