by WorldTribune Staff, July 12, 2017

While its propaganda outlets continue to spotlight the success of its recent ICBM launch and leader Kim Jong-Un’s threats to America, a photo of soldiers watering drought-stricken rice paddies showed the reality on the ground in North Korea.

A drought that began in April has resulted in enormous damage to North Korea’s granary zones, Voice of America (VOA) reported on July 12.

A joint investigative team comprised of officials from UN agencies operating in North Korea said that about 16 percent of all farmland in South Hwanghae Province was heavily affected by drought, with 40 percent of the farmland in the Kangryong and Jangyon counties dried up, the VOA report said.

Nearly 60 percent of the farmland in Jangpung County in North Hwanghae Province was ruined by drought, the report said, adding that rice paddies suffered more damage than corn fields.

“We plan to request a UN emergency fund as the nutritional conditions of children, pregnant women and lactating mothers in the Hwanghae provinces and Nampo City in North Pyongyan Province can be more vulnerable due to drought,” the investigation team was cited as saying.

Last week, Radio Free Asia quoted the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as stating that the yield in Pyongan, Hwanghae and Nampo City is expected to decline 30-80 percent this year from a year ago.

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  As N. Korea celebrates ICBM, Kim Jong-Un, North Korea drought, photo shows soldiers watering dried up rice paddies, Voice of America, WorldTribune.com