UN calls for 98 mln USD for urgent humanitarian needs in North Korea

The United Nations has called for 98 million U.S. dollars in funding to respond to urgent humanitarian priorities in North Korea, a UN spokesman said here Thursday.

"The humanitarian programs being implemented by five UN agencies in North Korea remain drastically underfunded," Eduardo del Buey, the deputy UN spokesman, said at a daily news briefing here.

"Of the overall funding requirement of 150 million dollars for this year, 98 million dollars is still urgently needed for food and agricultural support, health and nutrition, water and sanitation interventions," del Buey said.

"Around 2.4 million very vulnerable people in the most food insecure provinces need regular food assistance," he said.

The funds would be used for food and agricultural support, health and nutrition services, and water and sanitation interventions for the remainder of the year, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a news release.