Floods wipe out North Korea crops

Hong Kong - Less than three days of floods destroyed some 1.07 million tonnes of crops in North Korea this year, a senior Pyongyang official said here yesterday. "In two or three days, it's the loss we suffered," said Mr Kim Mun Song, vice-chairman of the North's State Commission of External Economic Affairs. The comment came amid warnings by international observers that misguided policies could worsen the North's food shortages, as Hong Kong promised aid. The floods were caused by a typhoon and inundated 288,000 acres, Mr Kim told the East Asia Economic Summit.