India contributes USD 1 mn for WFP's humanitarian activities in N Korea

As North Korea faces chronic food shortage, India has contributed USD 1 million to the World Food Programme (WFP) for its humanitarian activities in Pyongyang, the UN agency's monthly report said on Tuesday.

"WFP has intensified the South-South and Triangular cooperation as an avenue to enhance support to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and has received a contribution from the government of India of USD 1 million for its in-country operations," reported Yonhap news agency while quoting the report.

In September, a total of 584,800 people received aid across North Korea as the country received 1,905 tons of food aid from the WFP, up from 1,425 tons provided in August.

In 2018, North Korea's crop output hit the lowest since 2008, leading to an urgent need for food to an estimated 10 million people, or about 40 per cent of its population, the WFP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported in May.

In a bid to address the food situation, South Korea had planned to provide 50,000 tons of rice to Pyongyang through WFP. However, the North has refused to accept the offer.