VOA慢速英語: 干旱使朝鮮降低食物供應比例

Officials at the United Nations Food and AgricultureOrganization say North Korea has reduced the amountof food it gives to its people.

Cristina Coslet is the FAO’s Global Information andEarly Warning System officer for Far East Asia. Ms.Coslet spoke to VOA by telephone. She said NorthKorean officials told the FAO that food rations for Julyare 310 grams per person per day. That is a 25 percentdecrease from June. The average food ration betweenJanuary and June 2015 was 410 grams daily.

Corn fields in South Hwanghae, North Korea, which is suffering from a drought. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)

Ms. Coslet said a severe drought is affecting the country’s crop production. She said early planted crops- wheat, barley, potato - decreased considerably.

She said she expected this year’s production ofpotatoes and winter wheat to drop by more than 20percent from last year. The FAO official said the earlyseason harvest is a small but important food source forNorth Koreans.

In her words, “spring crops are vital for food security, being an important foodsource for the lean season, which stretches from May to September.”

Much still depends on the weather. Ms. Coslet said it is still too early toestimate the final harvest. Rainfall in the coming weeks is extremelyimportant.

The United States said last week that it has not received a request from NorthKorea for food aid.

U.S. State Department official Katina Adams said, “The United States remainsdeeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people. NorthKorea has not requested United States assistance, and the U.S. has no plansto provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea at this time.”

The FAO says North Korea is having unusually dry weather this year, withrainfall well below average. The drought is drying up the country’s irrigationwater supplies, including dams, wells and reservoirs.

Last month, North Korea’s official media admitted that the country has beenhit with “the worst drought in 100 years,” adding that the lack of rain was “causing great damage” to the country’s agricultural fields.

I’m Caty Weaver.

Hyunjin Kim reported this story for VOA. Mario Ritter adapted it for VOALearning English. Caty Weaver was the editor.

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Words in This Story

ration– n. a specific amount of something, usually food, officially providedduring a time of shortage

drought– n. a period with very little or no rain, and extremely dry conditions

vital – adj. extremely important

lean – adj. thin, with little excess

irrigation – n. systems for, or the process of, bringing water to plants foragricultural purposes

reservoir– n. a usually human-made lake that is used to store a large supplyof water for use in people's homes, businesses, etc.