Overview
- KCNA said Thursday that ministries sent staff and supplies to farms and moved to secure irrigation before the rice planting season.
- Premier Pak Thae-song inspected fields in South Pyongan, South Hwanghae and North Hwanghae and urged more mechanization and strict farm procedures.
- State reports cited pumps put to work and repairs to reservoir gates and waterways to keep early wheat and barley, a key pre-rice food source, from failing.
- U.N. agencies warn that millions are undernourished, and the FAO has listed North Korea as needing outside food aid for 19 straight years.
- Recent record heat and the chance of El Niño raise drought risks, and weak power and water systems make households and crops more vulnerable.