Millions of North Koreans face malnutrition despite recent food aid, relief agencies warn

"Relief agencies have warned that millions of North Koreans are malnourished, with the most vulnerable facing starvation in the coming months, despite reports that the impoverished state has received food aid from China and South Korea," the Lancet reports. "The warning comes after the sudden death of the North Korea's former leader, Kim Jong-Il, put on hold a possible deal in which it was preparing to accept 240,000 tons of food aid from the U.S. in return for suspending its uranium enrichment program, which would give it a further means of developing nuclear weapons," the journal writes. "The recent donations aside, U.N. agencies say that three million of North Korea's 24 million people will require food aid this year, adding that children are particularly vulnerable to malnutrition," the Lancet notes, adding, "According to a report by [World Food Programme] and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, North Korea faces a food deficit of 414,000 tons this year" (McCurry, 2/18).