Jung Min-ho has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2012, mostly covering social and political issues. He currently belongs to the Politics & City Desk where he covers topics such as health, labor and human rights. Prior to joining the team, he was responsible for covering North Korea and sports. His article about a biosecurity breach of Middle East respiratory syndrome won him an award from the Korea Science Journalists Association in 2016. He is also the co-author of the book, "Medical Pioneers of Korea" (2019). He served as the head of the international relations committee at the Journalists Association of Korea from 2021 to 2023.
One in five North Korean children suffer from malnutrition: study
Farmers inspect wheat at Kumsong Farm in Onchon County of Nampho City, North Korea, May 23. AP-Yonhap
By Jung Min-ho
By Jung Min-ho
Nearly one out of five North Korean children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, according to a recent international health study.
While the rate of stunting ― impaired growth and development manifested by low height-for-age ― of North Korean children in that age group was estimated at 16.8 percent, the rate of wasting ― low weight-for-height, known as the most dangerous form of undernutrition ― was 2.5 percent, according to a report released jointly last week by the U.N. Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and the World Bank Group.
The rates are among the highest levels in the world, and far greater than the 1.7 percent and 0.2 percent recorded among South Korean children, respectively.
The data indicates that more than 326,000 North Korean children's health is in a dire situation caused by a lack of food.
Nevertheless, it was an improvement from 10 years ago, when North Korea was reported to have some 411,300 children suffering from stunting.
Meanwhile, the number of overweight children there stood at 2.8 percent ― the fifth lowest among all the countries studied.
“All forms of malnutrition are preventable,” the report says. “As the world responds to the crisis, urgent action is critical to protect maternal and child nutrition ― especially in the most affected regions ― and secure a future where the right to nutrition is a reality for every child.”