The malnutrition problem in North Korea is still precarious... with around four in ten people in the North not getting enough food to see them through the day.
In a bid to combat the issue, the UN's humanitarian agencies are providing food aid for children and women, but gathering the required funding is proving difficult.
Yoon Jung-min reports.

The World Food Programme says some 40 percent of North Korea's population... around ten million people... are suffering from malnutrition.

The United Nations' food agency provides fortified cereals and enriched biscuits to 650-thousand women and children each month, but says it may have to cut its charity program due to a lack of funding.

The agency said some donors and companies have been reluctant to fund aid programs for North Korea even though humanitarian support is excluded from sanctions imposed by the UN Security Council for the regime's nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

A number of countries, including France, Switzerland and Sweden, are participating in the program.
The U.S., the WFP's biggest donor, does not support food aid for North Korea at the present time.

The WFP says 52-million U.S. dollars is needed this year alone to tackle malnutrition in North Korea.

Meanwhile, Radio Free Asia reported Tuesday that the UN Children's Fund provided nutrition aid and vaccinations for one-point-three million children in North Korea in the first half of the year.

In a report released by the agency, it said it conducted check-ups on more than one million children in the North and has been taking care of undernourished children, providing them with Vitamin A supplements and other nourishment.
UNICEF also appealed for more financial aid to help support children in need in the North.
Yoon Jung-min, Arirang News.