Joint U.N. assessment finds better harvests in DPR Korea but warns undernutrition persists among 2.8M vulnerable people

"There has been an increase in staple food production in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) for the second year running, but undernutrition persists for nearly three million people, according to a new United Nations assessment released" Monday, the U.N. News Centre reports. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme's (WFP) joint Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission "found that overall production for the main 2012 harvest and 2013 early season crops is expected to be 5.8 million metric tons, an improvement of 10 percent over last year," the news service writes (11/12). "This, however, should not mask an ongoing struggle with undernutrition and a lack of vital protein and fat in the diet, especially for an estimated 2.8 million vulnerable people," an FAO/WFP joint press release states (11/12). "DPR Korea still needs international help," Kisan Gunjal, FAO economist and mission co-leader, said in a statement, adding, "The new harvest figures are good news, but the lack of proteins and fats in the diet is alarming," Reuters writes (11/12).