The average daily ration is about 600 calories or about one-fourth of what the body needs to function and maintain itself. In some areas people receive even less. Everyone in the country is impacted to varying degrees by the famine. Those that are further from the capital suffer greater. On my last visit in July, I noticed many vehicles were stranded along the road sides.
Fuel is in short supply as are parts to repair the vehicles.
The World Food Program, a division of the United Nations, has an increasing number of food monitors on the ground in North Korea to track food shipments. When I was in North Korea in July, I was allowed to see the distribution of a shipment Food for the Hungry had sent. Typically, relief workers are allowed in for a week or two at time. After much discussion North Korean officials agreed earlier this year to allow Erich Weingartner, a World Food Program Liaison Officer for Non-governmental Organizations, to be stationed in Pyongyang. The food aid Food for the Hungry and other non-governmental organizations distribute is given with a humanitarian motivation and to those who need it most.