DPRK hit by worst drought in 100 years

Kim Jong Un visits Farm No. 1116, under KPA (Korean People's Army) Unit 810, in this undated file photo released by the DPRK's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on June 1, 2015. [Photo/Agencies]

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is suffering from the worst drought in a century, which has caused huge damage to its agricultural production, the country's official news agency KCNA has reported on Tuesday.

The state media said that rice growing was finished in more than 441,560 hectares across the country by June 8, but at least 136,200 hectares of them are "parching up."

It said nearly 80 percent and 58 percent of rice seedlings respectively in South and North Hwanghae provinces have dried up due to lack of rainfall.

"Badly damaged" areas include North and South Hwanghae provinces, South Pyongan province and South Hamgyong province, which the KCNA said are "granaries," indicating the drought has a severe impact on crop production.

The KCNA said that the water levels of reservoirs are at their lowest and rivers are getting dry, adding that besides rice, corn has also been affected by the drought.

Other crops are being planted instead to relieve the damage, it said.

Last year, the DPRK was also hit by severe drought, but officials said food production still increased by 48,700 tons compared to 2013 despite the water shortage.