UN: NKorea needs immediate food aid due to flood

(August 03, 2012) North Korea needs immediate food assistance after heavy rains killed scores of people and submerged vast swaths of farmland, a United Nations office said on Thursday. That assessment was released by the U.N. resident coordinator's office in Pyongyang following visits to flood-stricken areas in North Korea earlier this week. Floods caused by two storm systems last month killed at least 119 people and left tens of thousands homeless, according to the North's state media. The flooding, which occurred on the heels of a severe drought, renewed concerns about North Korea's ability to feed its people. In June, the U.N. said two-thirds of the country's 24 million people are coping with chronic food shortages. Thursday's U.N. report said torrential rains caused severe damage to homes, public buildings, infrastructure and farms, affecting maize, soybean and rice fields. North Korean officials have asked the U.N. to prioritize the release of emergency supplies, including food and fuel, Martin Nesirky, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, told reporters Thursday in New York. Aid groups have donated emergency supplies, including the British-based charity ShelterBox, which dispatched 270 tents to North Korea, according to Howard Chang, a spokesman for Rotary International, who provides funding to ShelterBox.