A/HRC/34/66 relatives. Such efforts should not be delayed or subject to political developments, but should take place on humanitarian and human rights grounds. Access to information 24. The Special Rapporteur was informed that in the last few years the authorities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had maintained or increased restrictions on access to information from outside the country. At the same time, he was also informed that, compared with a decade ago, more people are reportedly able to access information from abroad and to communicate with those abroad despite the stringent restrictions. Some reportedly use USB sticks or memory cards to share audiovisual materials smuggled into the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea or listen to radio stations broadcasting from China and the Republic of Korea. Brokers in the border area reportedly mediate international telephone calls, including to relatives in the Republic of Korea. The cost of these communications reportedly remains very high and conversation for longer than a few minutes is increasingly difficult owing to the fear of being detected by the authorities. Still, these communication channels reportedly allow some members of separated families to stay in touch and enable some individuals in the Republic of Korea to send remittances to their relatives in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to regard these important dynamics as opportunities to engage with its own people and to pursue greater integration and cooperation with the rest of the world. Right to food 25. The commission of inquiry documented the devastating consequences of the famine that occurred in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the mid-1990s. Despite reports of an improvement in food availability in recent years, natural and human-made conditions that render a large part of the population food insecure reportedly persist. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations maintains the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on the list of 37 countries that require external assistance for food, mainly owing to the overall tight food supply and the August 2016 flood that affected arable land.36 The Special Rapporteur was informed that many households now reportedly rely on private commercial transactions to secure their food. Nevertheless, the ambiguous legal status of these transactions contributes to food insecurity as the ability to pursue commercial activities often depends on ad hoc decisions by local officials and on the amount of bribes those conducting the activities are able to pay. In 2016, compulsory labour mobilization by the Workers’ Party of Korea, including during the 70-day campaign and the 200-day campaign undertaken before and after the Seventh Party Congress, allegedly limited the capacity of residents to engage in commercial activities critical for their food security. 37 Given that many people do not receive food rations, or receive an insufficient amount of rations,38 the restrictions on trading activities have a direct impact on their food security. The lack of reference in the five-year strategy for economic development adopted during the May 2016 Party Congress to private commercial and market activities, which are increasingly essential for the food security of residents in the country, may have negative implications for their enjoyment of this fundamental right. 36 37 38 10 FAO, “Countries requiring external assistance for food”, December 2016, available from www.fao.org/giews/country-analysis/external-assistance/en/. Asia Press, discussion with OHCHR-Seoul, 11 May 2016, note on file with OHCHR-Seoul; Kang Mi Jin, “Anger mounts as police crush street sales”, Daily NK (Seoul), 9 March 2016, available from www.dailynk.com/english/read.php?num=13789&cataId=nk01500. Korea Institute for National Unification, White Paper 2016, p. 261.