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Food shortages lessen for some North Koreans

SEOUL, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- The number of people facing a food crisis in North Korea has diminished during the first part of 2013, the U.N. World Food Program said.

North Korea risked much of its foreign food assistance as a result of its defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions condemning its nuclear weapons program. North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests since multilateral nuclear negotiations stalled in 2009.

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U.S. lawmakers have said they were concerned North Korean human rights issues may be sidelined because of North Korea's nuclear concerns. A quarterly report from the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization said millions of North Koreans require some form of food assistance.

The World Food Program said 20 percent of North Korean children under 5 are malnourished. The overall number of people suffering from food shortages declined, the Yonhap News Agency in South Korea reported Friday.

Yonhap reported there have been modest improvements in the food situation in North Korea because of a government focus on agriculture.

North Korea's foes say the government put too much financial emphasis on its nuclear program to the detriment of public welfare.

WFP this week said North Korean agriculture, however, has been damaged by seasonal floods.

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