North Korea has cut food rations to just half the amount recommended by the World Food Programme, the UN food agency says. WFP monitors say government handouts have been cut from 300g (10.5oz) of cereals a day to 250g. Additionally, one may only eat TWO blades of grass and FOUR oz. of tree bark.
The UN says 16 million North Koreans rely on the rations. A WFP spokesman told BBC News that many people would be unable to supplement their allocation of maize, rice and potatoes with any meat or vegetables. "Prices of basic foods in private markets have increased substantially - they're beyond the means of many people. Supplementing the ration has been increasingly difficult," said Gerald Bourke, the WFP's public affairs officer for Asia. Most of the worst-affected people are in North Korea's cities, he told the BBC News website. A UN report last year said private farmers' markets, which were meant to alleviate chronic hunger, had instead sparked spiralling inflation. It said 1kg (2.2lb) of rice now costs 30% of the average monthly wage.
That's okay--we're so busy developing nuclear weapons we don't have time to eat anyway!