WFP WARNS DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOOD SITUATION DETERIORATING SHARPLY
Press Release
WFP/1033
WFP WARNS DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF KOREA FOOD SITUATION DETERIORATING SHARPLY
19960513 ROME, 13 May (WFP) -- The World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that the food situation in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had deteriorated more sharply than expected in the last few months and would get much worse this summer. "The food supply situation has deteriorated more seriously than had been anticipated", said the WFP, the United Nations' food aid arm, in a report on the situation. WFP officials said commercial food imports and food aid had been much less than expected. "The situation is likely to become considerably worse in the lean months between May and September", said a WFP Special Alert. According to the Special Alert, "most of last year's harvest has been consumed, food stocks are critically low, significant commercial imports are unlikely, and there is no further food assistance in the pipeline". All reports from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea indicate widespread shortages in large parts of the country. Pyongyang has sharply reduced food rations under its rationing system. The WFP report warned that the "entire public distribution system is coming under considerable strain". Worsening food shortages and the inability of the public distribution system to provide a regular supply of basic staples have led the people to adopt various coping mechanisms, the report said, including the consumption of wild foods.Widespread flooding last summer -- the worst natural disaster in the country's history -- displaced half a million people and left 100,000 families homeless. Out of the 500,000 displaced people, 55,000 are children under the age of five.
The floods worsened an already significant food shortage in the country, WFP officials report. Some 40,000 hectares of land in the flood-affected areas will remain under sand and debris, the report said. "Food supply difficulties could, therefore, continue well into 1997."
The floods prompted the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to issue an unprecedented appeal for international aid. The WFP then approved an emergency operation covering 10,250 tons of rice and 675 tons of vegetable oil valued at $8.8 million to feed the half-a-million flood victims for three months. The WFP has delivered about 90 per cent of the rice commitment.
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