The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says a severe drought has forced North Korea to slash state food rations by 25 percent this month. 
 
An FAO official said in a telephone interview with the Voice of America that the North Korean government cut daily food rations from 410 grams to 310 grams per person starting this month.
 
The official said the North likely took the measure because it witnessed a 25 percent on-year drop in the yield of double-crop products such as flour, barley and potato.
 
The FAO projected in its June report that the North’s production of double-crop products will reach 301-thousand tons this year, down 18 percent year-on-year, but the production is expected to further decrease by 24-thousand tons.