WTNH] SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea says it has been hit by its worst drought in a century, resulting in extensive damage to agriculture during its main planting season.
The official Korean Central News Agency said the drought has caused
about 30 percent of its rice paddies to dry up. Young rice plants
normally need to be partially submerged in water during the early
“Recently in our country, there has been a severe drought with sudden
extremely high temperatures and nearly no rain,” Ri Yong Nam, a senior
North Korean weather official, told The Associated Press on Wednesday.
“Now the drought is causing a water shortage and great damage to
agriculture, and we foresee this drought will continue for a while.”
He said temperatures in May were 5-7 degrees Celsius (9-12 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than normal.
Both North and South Kore have had unusually dry weather this year.
South Korea’s Unification Ministry said precipitation in North Korea
was abnormally low in May, and food production could decline
significantly if the shortage continues. However, a ministry official
said he couldn’t confirm North Korea’s claim that it was experiencing
its worst drought in a century.
Jane Howard, a spokeswoman for the World Food Program in Rome, said
North Korea has been experiencing water shortages since late last year
because of low rain and snowfall. “The lack of water now could seriously
affect the main crop season later this year,” she said.
The main crop season is planted in June-July and normally accounts
for 90 percent of total food production, she said in an email.
“We are very concerned that if there is poor crop production this
year, there will be a significant increase in malnutrition especially
among children,” she said. Read More