Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) the levels of malnutrition and hunger in North Korea, and (2) the order by the government of North Korea to their people that they must eat less food until 2025.

The UK is concerned that humanitarian needs may be growing in North Korea. According to UN figures, 40% of North Korea's population were food insecure in 2019. Since 28 January 2020, restrictions on internal movement, including for UN agencies and NGOs, have severely impacted the distribution of aid and support, and resulted in the departure of most of the international community. We encourage North Korea to allow entry for humanitarian workers to carry out an independent assessment of humanitarian needs, and to facilitate delivery of humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities.