The UN is concerned:
North Korea is heading for a 'chronic' new food crisis with drought and floods in different parts of the country exacerbated by cuts in international aid, the United Nations said.
UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon expressed concern 'that the acute humanitarian needs' of at least 3.5 million women and children in North Korea would worsen because of food shortages....
North Korea suffered famine like conditions in the 1990s in which several hundred thousand people died, according to aid groups. There are worries now as the North heads into its notoriously long and biting winter.
There has been a shortage of rainfall in some parts of the country but in August torrential downpours caused floods in the north, near the Chinese border.
The UN predicted that the cereal yield would be nearly a fifth lower than in 2009....
But some people are suffering less than other people:
It has been revealed that North Korea purchased 600 bottles of top quality wine from French producer Maison Michel Picard in July this year, just the latest in a long list of luxury food and wine purchases by the Kim regime dating back to the March of Tribulation.
The daughter of company owner Michel Picard, Francine Picard revealed the news in a presentation for journalists at Seoul Finance Center today, saying, “On average, we do approximately one transaction with North Korea per year, and while the quantity is small, we maintain a good relationship with them.”
“This July too, a North Korean government representative bought 600 bottles of high end wine including Chassagne-Montrachet and Échezeaux Grand Cru,” Picard explained, adding, “These wines sell for between 310,000 and 400,000 won in Europe.” [...]
However, it is unclear whether the French government is aware of the export of luxury wines to North Korea, a trade that is in probable violation of UN Security Council Resolution 1718, which expressly forbids the export of “luxury goods” by any UN member state to North Korea.