The executive director of World Food Program, Josette Sheeran says her recent visit to North Korea was different from the usual state-sponsored tours that foreigners are typically taken on when they visit Pyongyang.
"I saw many children that are already losing the battle against malnutrition, and their bodies and minds are stunted," she said.
Sheeran returned to China Thursday after spending three days in Pyongyang. She told reporters she met with senior North Korean officials and visited an orphanage, a factory and a hospital where children were being treated for malnutrition.
"We really feel the need there for the special fortified food for the children is very strong, and that we want to make sure we're reaching the most vulnerable children," she said.
The country struggles with chronic food shortages, but severe flooding in the north this summer has aggravated the problem. A famine in the 1990s is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.
"I saw many children that are already losing the battle against malnutrition, and their bodies and minds are stunted," she said.
Sheeran returned to China Thursday after spending three days in Pyongyang. She told reporters she met with senior North Korean officials and visited an orphanage, a factory and a hospital where children were being treated for malnutrition.
"We really feel the need there for the special fortified food for the children is very strong, and that we want to make sure we're reaching the most vulnerable children," she said.
The country struggles with chronic food shortages, but severe flooding in the north this summer has aggravated the problem. A famine in the 1990s is believed to have killed hundreds of thousands of North Koreans.
A recent UN report warns North Korea is heading for a new food crisis.
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