A/HRC/19/65 17. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that, despite more than 150 rounds of talks between the Red Cross societies of the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea since 1971, the outcome of the talks has been minimal. To date, the two societies have managed to organize only 18 rounds of family reunions over a period of 12 years, the last one being held in October 2010. The number of families in the Republic of Korea who have benefitted from the family reunion programme stands at 1,800 out of a total 128,668 registered applicants. 18. According to the database of the Government of the Republic of Korea, in 2011, the number of elderly citizens of the Republic of Korea seeking to meet relatives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fell to 78,892, as against 82,447 in 2010. This state of affairs underscores the urgency of resuming the reunions of family members separated by the Korean War of 1950-1953. The drop in number of families seeking family visits is due to the death of separated family members, who are growing increasingly elderly. 19. Another survey carried out in December 2011 of more than 66,600 surviving separated family members showed that 43.8 per cent of them were aged 80 years or over, 37.3 per cent were in their seventies and 13.6 per cent were in their sixties. In the light of these developments, the Special Rapporteur urges that the two Red Cross societies to adopt a three-step approach of (a) tracing all separated families and notifying their counterparts; (b) facilitating the exchange of mail among separated Korean families whose whereabouts have been identified; and (c) arranging meetings and mutual visits among them. The Special Rapporteur believes that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has been involved in family tracing around the world, could be a valuable partner in sharing experiences with the Red Cross societies of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and the Republic of Korea. This could not only be helpful in developing new ways of tracing families, but also to provide much needed attention to the subject of tracing Korean family members. The Special Rapporteur recognizes that an absolute replication of all forms of family tracing adopted by ICRC could be challenging in the context of separated families in the Korean peninsula, as certain modalities would require the affected families to have access to the Internet, which is lacking in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. 20. In the interest of separated families, the Special Rapporteur urges the resumption of the family reunion process and calls for a more robust mechanism of family reunions in the months and years ahead. B. Food and economic situation and its impact on the right to food 21. In recent years, chronic shortage of food has become one of the most pressing issues in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a topic that the previous and the current mandate holders have constantly focused on, in view of its impact on the people and the crucial importance that the right to adequate food has for the enjoyment of a number of other rights. 22. In March 2011, a United Nations survey found that, in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, more than 6 million vulnerable people urgently required international food assistance. Following the survey, an assessment mission was jointly conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and WFP in October 2011. On the basis of the mission, a report on the current food situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was released in November 2011. In the country, the State-run public distribution system remains the primary source through which food is delivered. In 2011, given that for prolonged periods time the system only provided around one-third of daily energy requirements, households were forced to seek food from other sources. 6