A/HRC/16/58 2008 to reinvestigate pending cases. For an effective resolution of the abduction issues, international criminal liability of those responsible for abduction cannot be ruled out. C. Food and the economic situation impacting the right to food 26. Various sources refer to food insecurity in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which includes information gathered by interacting with a number of asylumseekers and NGOs working on the situation in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Another important source of information on the situation of food in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the recently concluded Food and Agriculture Organization/World Food Programme (FAO/WFP) Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission, which was conducted in a very systematic manner. 27. The Special Rapporteur notes that the country continues to suffer from chronic food insecurity, high malnutrition rates and economic problems, and has great difficulties meeting the needs of its population of some 24 million.10 The FAO/WFP mission conducted late in 2008 confirmed a significant deterioration in food security in most parts of the country in recent years.11 This deterioration was corroborated by a number of NGOs, both in the Republic of Korea and Japan, with small, but insignificant differences with regards to statistics on food security. 28. The Special Rapporteur is of the view that a number of factors have contributed to the current food insecurity in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which include the economic structure of the country, misallocation of resources, food distribution system, natural disasters, climatic conditions and shortages of agricultural inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. 29. The winter of 2009/10 was unusually severe and prolonged, resulting in a low survival rate of winter wheat and delays in planting spring crops and transplanting mainseason paddy. Furthermore, as mentioned in the introduction to this report, unusually intense rainstorms hit most of the country causing localized flooding, crop loss and structural damage to irrigation canals and dams.12 30. The situation concerning food shortages in 2009 (with its impact on 2010) remains severe. The total gross production of cereal equivalent came to only 4.21 million metric tons unmilled (3.3 million tons milled), as agricultural production was severely constrained by lack of fertilizer and fuel, declining soil fertility and structural factors. The most food insecure part of the country remains the north-east. 31. The FAO/WFP mission to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea concluded that, in 2009/10, a large number of low-income non-farming households faced a significant food consumption gap, as the cereals received from the public distribution system (PDS) provided on average only about half the daily calorific requirement. The population group assisted by PDS consists of persons conducting all economic activities other than military and cooperative farmers. The working population in this group receives a cash income and is allowed to purchase cereals at subsidized prices. The recommended cereal ration for purchase per family member per day is 573 g, amounting to about 209 kg/person per year. 10 11 12 8 FAO, “GIEWS Country Brief on Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (September 2010). Available from www.fao.org/giews/countrybrief/country.jsp?code=PRK. Ibid. FAO/WFP, “Special Report: FAO/WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (Economic and Social Development Department, November 2010).