The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is facing a severe food shortage due to a worst drought since 2001, said The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Thursday.

The FAO noted that rainfall in the country’s key producing areas fell below average between April and June, causing severe damage to DPRK’s main crops like rice, potatoes, and soybeans.

Vincent Martin, FAO representative in China and the DPRK, said the drought was expected to severely impact Nampo city and the provinces of South and North Pyongan and Hwanghae which account for almost two-thirds of main season crops.

The FAO estimated that early season production plunged over 30 percent from 2016, and the situation would worsen during the 2017-18 marketing year, with cereal imports and food aid likely to increase as a result.

The FAO said that the sanctions imposed on the country over its nuclear program were also part of the reason for its food shortage. 

The UN's World Food Program (WFP) said it has also seen a steep drop in contributions while the 2016 Global Hunger Index (GHI) said two in every five people in the DPRK were undernourished.

Pyongyang has been relying heavily on international food aid since a famine rocked the country in the 1990s.

(With inputs from Reuters)