The 15-member UN Security Council has unanimously boosted sanctions on North Korea since 2006 in a bid to choke off funding for Pyongyang’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs. The official name for North Korea is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The memo said North Korea’s food production last year was 4.951 million tons, 503,000 tons down on 2017. US Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun said earlier this month the United States had eased rules on humanitarian assistance to North Korea and was working to clear a backlog of U.N. approvals. Kim Young-hee, a North Korean defector and an expert on the North Korean economy at Korea Development Bank in Seoul, did not think the memo was asking for food.

Source: bd News24 February 22, 2019 01:52 UTC