North Koreans face hunger

North Korea's severe food shortages are expected to worsen this year after a poor grain harvest in 2009, South Korean officials say.

The Unification Ministry, which handles cross-border relations, said the communist state produced 3.73 million tonnes of grain last year, a 5 per cent drop from 3.9 million in 2008. Annual demand is said to be 4.9 million tonnes.