North Korea has a substantial and chronic food deficit,

The government of North Korea has made it very clear that it no longer wants our emergency food aid. It's a sovereign country, and we must respect that position.

Part of the problem is with our monitoring people moving around the country, ... This is and has been a concern for them.

Our view is that, yes, the humanitarian situation in the North has improved, but not to the extent to which the country can do without humanitarian aid.

Their were 25 pupils and only three of them has any meat in the last month. Very occasionally an egg, a little bit of vegetable and that's it.

The donors on the executive board expressed pretty serious concern about the operating conditions that were on offer and gave us a mandate to try and better them.