© Agence France-PresseNorth Korean workers are seen in a field behind a barbed wire fence. The hardline communist state is pleading for food aid even from some of the world's poorest nations such as Zimbabwe, a report has said, amid suspicion the aid may be used to boost the regime's political standing.
JoongAng Ilbo newspaper, citing a Seoul diplomatic source, said the communist North sought food not only from the United States and Europe but also from poor African countries.
"Now they are begging for food even from the world's poorest countries in Africa such as Zimbabwe where annual per-capita income is only around 200 dollars," said the source quoted by JoongAng.
Pyongyang officials stressed to visiting officials a "dire" and "urgent" need for aid, but diplomats based in the North were relatively upbeat about the recent food situation, it said.
"Western countries have started to suspect that the North was begging for food because of internal political campaigns... rather than a genuine need for food," the source was quoted as saying.
Food production in the impoverished country actually increased last year, South Korea's foreign minister said last week, citing a report by UN food agencies.
Kim Sung-Hwan said Pyongyang nevertheless stepped up calls for international aid amid shortages caused by mismanagement of the state-directed economy and excessive military spending.
Seoul once provided an annual 400,000 tons of rice to its neighbour but this ended in 2008 as relations worsened.
International irritation at the communist country's nuclear and missile programmes has led to a drop in donations to UN food programmes.
The US special representative for North Korea policy, Stephen Bosworth, said last week Washington was assessing the case for a possible resumption in food aid but stressed the need for monitoring to ensure distribution transparency.
Source: Agence France-Presse
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