DATE=8/9/1999 TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT TITLE=N. KOREA HARVEST NUMBER=2-252593 BYLINE=HYUN-SUNG KHANG DATELINE=SEOUL CONTENT= VOICED AT: INTRO: North Korea has warned that its grain harvest will drop sharply this year, due to torrential rains and a typhoon which battered the peninsula last week. The country has requested food aid to the areas damaged by Typhoon Olga. Hyun-Sung Khang reports from the South Korean capital, Seoul, the floods are likely to worsen the plight of a country which has experienced successive years of famine. TEXT: North Korea's state media says last week's typhoon and torrential rains submerged the country. Hardest hit were the southern regions which are traditionally the food-producing areas for the rest of the nation. The Pyongyang reports warn that as a result, the North's grain harvest is expected to drop sharply. The Korean Central News Agency adds that floodwaters have inundated thousands of houses and public buildings, claiming lives and leaving people homeless. The flood also severely damaged kilometers of roads and more than a thousand bridges. North Korea has already requested food aid for the areas damaged by the typhoon. The United Nation's World Food Program says it has conducted inspections to assess flood damage in the worst-hit areas, but the extent of the damage is not yet known. Another agency, The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says that up to 72 centimeters of rain fell in five days and it warned that flooding could have a lasting impact on the country. The head of the federation's delegation to North Korea says the flooding hit 50-thousand hectares of rice paddies. He warns that if rice paddies are flooded for more than 48 hours, they are likely to suffer permanent damage. The charity has some 300 volunteers in the southern area of the country, distributing disaster relief including rice, blankets, cooking sets, water containers and purification tablets. North Korea has experienced more than five years of famine brought about by successive years of flooding which have crippled an already inefficient food production system. The famine is said to have claimed hundreds of thousands -- possibly millions -- of lives. The country, which adheres to an ideology of self- reliance has, in recent years, become heavily dependent on food aid from the rest of the world. But amid growing expectations that North Korea is preparing to test fire a missile, South Korea has warned that Pyongyang risks having foreign aid suspended, if it goes ahead with the launch. The South Korean Foreign Minister says aid and cash donations would be severed, endangering what he calls, North Korea's "struggle for existence". (signed) NEB/ FC / PLM 09-Aug-1999 14:03 PM EDT (09-Aug-1999 1803 UTC) NNNN Source: Voice of America .
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