UN Food Agency Reclassifies North Korea as a Country Needing External Food Aid

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has re-designated North Korea as one of the countries in need of external food aid.

According to the Voice of America (VOA) broadcast on the 5th, the FAO classified North Korea as a "country generally facing difficulty accessing food" in its "Crop Prospects and Food Situation" report for the first quarter (January to March) of this year, including it among 45 countries worldwide requiring external food assistance.

The FAO has consistently included North Korea on this list since it began the survey in 2007.

The FAO pointed out that most North Korean residents have low food intake and limited variety in their diet. Due to economic constraints caused by COVID-19, food security for North Korean residents has become more vulnerable, and floods and monsoon rains that occurred consecutively in August and September last year caused significant damage to residents in the southern regions of North Korea, the FAO analyzed.

Among the 45 countries designated by the FAO as needing external food aid, 34 were African countries, and 9 were Asian countries including Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, North Korea received the lowest score among 178 countries surveyed in the "2021 Index of Economic Freedom" released the previous day by the U.S. private research organization Heritage Foundation.

The "Index of Economic Freedom" evaluates a country's economic freedom based on four categories: rule of law, regulatory efficiency, government intervention, and market openness. According to VOA, North Korea scored only 5.2 out of 100 points.