UN chief and North Korean official discuss nuclear and humanitarian issues

UN chief and North Korean official discuss nuclear and humanitarian issues

2011-09-30 18:29:33 GMT+7 (ICT)

UNITED NATIONS (BNO NEWS) -- United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has met with North Korea's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, Pak Gil Yon, to discuss humanitarian concerns such as the ongoing nuclear issue.

The two leaders met at the UN Headquarters in New York this week, discussing several topics, including food shortages, the recent floods, and other humanitarian issues.

Ban encouraged more donor commitments to meeting humanitarian needs in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and emphasized the need for the DPRK to enhance its cooperation with UN agencies, including through improved access and monitoring.

The Secretary-General also reiterated the importance of resolving the nuclear issues and other outstanding matters through dialogue, noting the recent improvement in inter-Korean relations.

In July, the UN World Food Program (WFP) launched an emergency food supply operation in DPRK valued at just over $200 million to assist some 3.5 million vulnerable children, women, and elderly persons, after participating in an assessment of food needs in the country.

The assessment found that "a bitter winter, crop loss and a lack of financial resources meant that the country was unable to secure cereal supplies from abroad, although it needed them to supplement the local production."

Although acute malnutrition had not reached crisis levels, chronic malnutrition and poor diets were widespread in DPRK, WFP said at the time. About a third of the children in the country were stunted and about a quarter of all pregnant women and nursing mothers were malnourished.

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