North Korea is experiencing its worst drought in over a century, official media reported Friday. Since January to May 15 this year, the North received just 56.3 millimeters of rain or snow, the Rodong Sinmun newspaper said, the lowest since 1917.
In their most recent estimates, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program (WFP) said about 10.1 million North Koreans – 40 percent of the population – were suffering from severe food shortages, a similar figure to recent years, according to AFP.
The North, which is under several sets of sanctions over its nuclear weapon and ballistic missile programs, suffers chronic food shortages. It recorded its worst harvest for a decade last year, down by 500,000 tons, the UN said.