25,000 N. Korean children malnourished by drought: UN

By Choi Sung-jin

About 25,000 North Korean children are malnourished because of a long drought last year and require immediate treatment, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) said.

The agency made the announcement Tuesday while noting that the North’s grain production fell 20 percent from 2014, according to The Guardian.

“The effects of drought will continue through this year,” UNICEF was quoted as saying. “The rationing of grain has sharply dropped, affecting the health and nourishment of women and children.”

Timothy Shafter, UNICEF’s representative in North Korea, said: “The severe drought of 2015 has reduced both grain production and the supply of safe and clean water to children.”

Of the total 15.5 million British pounds (27 billion won) needed for the support of North Koreans, the agency has received only 38 percent, Shafter said, adding that every time Pyongyang conducts a nuclear test, aid from the international community dries up.