PYONGYANG, North Korea, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- North Korean food shortages have not yet reached famine levels but aid is badly needed, says a World Food Program official.
In particular, the United Nations organization is asking South Korea to give its neighbor up to $60 million in food. The request comes as public opinion there cools toward Pyongyang after last month's shooting of a South Korean tourist by a North Korean soldier, the Yonhap news agency reported Saturday.
"The situation is quite critical with some of the regions in the country reaching the level of 'humanitarian emergency,' but we don't consider that it is at the level of starvation or famine," said the U. N. program's Jean-Pierre de Margerie in an interview with Radio Free Asia. "We, however, would be more than welcome if South Korea could provide us with the contribution above $20 million, maybe up to $60 million, especially as we expect the country to be the largest donor in our emergency relief program."
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, who took office in February, has expressed concerns with what he calls his predecessors "unconditional flow of aid" to the North.
