WFP Threatens To Stop Operations in North Korea World Food Programme is struggling to operate in the Communist country

Despite all the global efforts, North Korea is back on square one. The Supreme Leader is more interested in creating missiles than finding solutions for hunger. Humanitarian aid efforts in the North have been severely hampered due to Pyongyang’s tightened border controls put in place since early last year, though it has claimed to be coronavirus-free….reports Asian Lite News

 

Due to the strict Covid-19 curbs and restriction on imports by the authority, the World Food Programme (WFP) warns suspending its operations in North Korea in 2021.

The UN aid agency has been facing challenges in deploying its staff in the North, with its stringent monitoring activities being curtailed for a prolonged period of time.

“Pandemic-related restrictions do not ease and food imports, international staff deployments and physical monitoring access remain curtailed for a prolonged period,” the WFP said in statement.

“WFP will opportunistically use windows in which food imports are allowed to replenish and optimize in-country stocks and mitigate against import delays. However, there is a significant residual risk that, should food imports not be possible, operations will cease in 2021,” it added.

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Humanitarian aid efforts in the North have been severely hampered due to Pyongyang’s tightened border controls put in place since early last year, though it has claimed to be coronavirus-free.

North Korea has rejected outside help on worries that any inbound shipments could bring about an outbreak of the highly contagious disease.

Border closures coupled with damage to farming areas inflicted by back-to-back typhoons and flooding last summer have raised concerns over worsening food shortages in the impoverished state.

North Korea is believed to be faced with a food shortage of about 1.2 million to 1.3 million tons this year. The unification minister earlier said that the ministry is exploring various ways to provide food and fertilizers to North Korea in humanitarian assistance.

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