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Floods Kill 169 People, 400 Still Missing In North Korea


North Korea's state news agency reports that flooding in the country has killed 169 people and that some 400 others are missing.

The Korean Central News Agency said on August 4 that floods and heavy rains had left more than 200,000 people homeless and that more than 65,000 hectares of cropland were destroyed.

Earlier reports from state media said that 119 people were killed, 84,000 left homeless and some 45,000 hectares of cropland ruined.

Pyongyang has already appealed to the UN for help.

Damage from the heavy rains and flooding are exacerbating an already serious situation with food supplies in the isolationist communist state.

Patrick McCormack, spokesman for the UN International Children's Emergency Fund said on August 3 that North Korea has been experiencing "chronic food shortages" for most of the last decade.

Based on reporting by AFP and Reuters

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