BEIJING - North Korea expects a shortfall of two million tonnes of grain next year equal to 40 per cent of the nation's needs and worse than expected, a Red Cross official said in the Chinese capital yesterday.
Only a few months ago, aid workers had estimated the food shortage would be 1.5 million tonnes. "Their shortages are serious ... they (North Korean officials) have not been able to meet the daily food ration," said Mr Ole Gronning, representative of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Pyongyang.