The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) on Friday said it has regained access to north-eastern provinces of North Korea, which had been closed off to all international agencies since the end of 2006. Trucks loaded with nutritional supplies and medicines have travelled out of the capital Pyongyang toward the two provinces, UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau told reporters in Geneva. ‘This delivery marks the resumption of UNICEF support to these remote provinces, which was interrupted when the DPRK government closed access,’ she said.The UN had been negotiating with the North Korean authorities to reopen humanitarian access to these provinces since early 2007, and approval for was confirmed last week. Prior to the closure, UNICEF had been providing aid in the region since 1999.
An assessment which had just been completed by the World Food Programme assessment found that many children in the two northeastern provinces of North Hamgyong and Ryanggang were suffering from malnutrition. The finding was consistent with a 2004 nutritional survey which had found that four percent of children under five in Ryanggang were suffering from stunted growth. In addition, some nine percent were suffering from wasting and 31 percent were underweight. In North Hamgyong province, 10 percent of children under five were then suffering from wasting, a condition arising from acute food shortages.