According to the UN and the World Bank, there are 317,800 in the under-five range. Numbers improving compared to 2012, but well below international standards. The pandemic has aggravated the situation, which will continue to worsen in the months to come.
Seoul (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Almost a fifth of North Korean children are malnourished, a condition that is likely to worsen due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. This was revealed in a report made public today by the United Nations Children's Fund, the World Health Organization and the World Bank.
The figure refers to 2020 and concerns 317,800 children under the age of five, 18.2% of the total in this age group. The numbers presented by the three organizations are better than in 2012, when the percentage was 26.2%, but they remain well below international standards.
The researchers who drafted the report pointed out that the current condition of children in North Korea is actually even more serious and will likely worsen. In fact, the bulk of the research was carried out before the outbreak of the global health emergency.
The pandemic has aggravated the economic condition of the country, already hit by the international sanctions adopted to limit Pyongyang's nuclear and missile program. According to a report published by Daily NK last month, North Korean soldiers deployed at the border with China to ensure the anti-pandemic blockade are also starving.
The Kim Jong-un regime claims that it has not registered any cases of coronavirus infection; However, since the outbreak of the pandemic crisis, the North Korean authorities have closed the land and sea borders, including those with China, on which Pyongyang depends politically and economically.