Harvest improves in North Korea but malnutrition concerns remain, U.N. food agencies say

"A United Nations assessment published [Friday] finds that the main annual harvest in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has improved compared to last year but serious nutrition concerns persist, especially among young children," the U.N. News Centre reports. "The joint report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that while harvests are expected to increase by about 8.5 percent over 2010, the country will still have a cereal import requirement of 739,000 tons," the news service writes (11/25). According to the Associated Press/Washington Post, "The report says nearly three million people will continue to require food assistance next year. U.N. officials have appealed to wealthy countries to put aside politics to help hungry North Koreans" (11/25).