North Korea has been hit by the worst drought since 2001 which has "severely damaged" crop production, according to a U.N. report published Thursday. The crops are an important source of food during the May-to-September lean season and food imports will be needed over the next three months, the FAO said. An unknown number of North Koreans died in the famine of the 1990s, which was caused by combination of drought and economic crisis. The reclusive country also suffered a famine in 2001 when it was hit by the longest drought in 300 years. Around 70 percent of the North Korea's 25.1 million-strong population are "food insecure" according to the World Food Program (WFP), which also says that many suffer chronic malnutrition and that a quarter of children are stunted.

Source: The China Post July 21, 2017 08:26 UTC