Red Cross warns of food crisis in North Korea as crops fail in heat

A heat wave in North Korea has led to rice, maize and other crops withering in the fields, “with potentially catastrophic effects”, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Friday.

The world’s largest disaster relief network warned of a risk of a “full-blown food security crisis” in the isolated country hit by international sanctions. The population is already stressed and vulnerable with malnutrition among children that could worsen, it said.

Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay, editing by Tom Miles