May 21, 2013 4:08 AM EDT
More rain drenches North Korea, flooding buildings and forcing people up to rooftops
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U.N. staff planned to visit storm-pounded counties in North Korea on Tuesday, after two days of heavy rain submerged buildings, cut off power, flooded rice paddies and forced people and their livestock to climb onto rooftops for safety.

The rain Sunday and Monday followed downpours earlier this month that killed nearly 90 people and left more than 60,000 homeless, officials said. The floods also come on the heels of a severe drought, fueling renewed food worries about a country that already struggles to feed its people.

Two-thirds of North Korea's 24 million people face chronic food shortages, a U.N. report said last month, while asking donors for $198 million in humanitarian aid for the country. South Korean analyst Kwon Tae-jin said the recent flooding, coming so soon after the dry spell, is likely to worsen the North's food problems.

North Korea-based United Nations staff will visit the two hardest-hit counties to see what help the U.N.


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