According to the United Nations' World Food Program, North Korea is facing "a severe food crisis."
U.N. spokesman Fred Eckhard says unless new pledges are made for its emergency operations, the WFP will suffer a "break in the food aid pipeline," resulting in a serious disruption of their efforts to alleviate hunger and reduce malnutrition in North Korea.
Mr. Eckhard says time is of the essence.
"They require an additional 368,000 metric tons of cereals and other commodities to be fully implemented," he said. "It can take two to four months for food to reach a beneficiary once a pledge is made."
WFP operations in North Korea feed 6.4 million people, primarily children, pregnant and nursing women, and the elderly.