VOA慢速英语:朝鲜恐将面临粮食紧缺问题

North Korea could face more food shortages later this year if a drought continues. That is what the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said last week. A drought means a serious lack of rain, which makes it difficult to grow crops.

朝鲜旱情如果继续的话，朝鲜下半年恐将面临粮食短缺。上周时候联合国世界粮食计划署如是说。干旱意味着降水量严重缺乏，导致庄稼无法生长。

"The lack of water now could seriously affect the main crop season later this year," according to WFP's communications officer Zoie Jones. She wrote to the VOA Korean Service in an email.

目前的缺水状况可能会影响到今年晚些时候的大部分季节作物。世界粮食计划署通讯员Zoie Jones这样说。她在VOA朝鲜地区服务部邮件中这样写道。

Her organization is concerned about children getting enough to eat. She added, "There will be a significant increase in malnutrition especially among children."

她所负责的组织关心的是儿童温饱问题。她补充说，这种情况很容易出现严重的营养不良情况，尤其是在儿童中现象比较普遍。

The WFP warning came one day after the North Korean state media reported on the country's drought conditions. The official Korean Central News Agency called it "The worst drought in 100 years... causing great damage to its [North Korea's] agricultural fields."

世界粮食计划署这一警告在朝鲜国家媒体报道其旱情后的一天发出。朝鲜中央新闻社官方称此次旱情是“100年来最严重的一次干旱，会对朝鲜农业造成巨大影响。”

A famine in the 1990s killed an estimated one million people in North Korea. In May, the U.N. reported the number of hungry people in North Korea has more than doubled in the last two decades. The number rose to 10.5 million in 2014, up from 4.8 million in 1990.

在1990年代发生的饥荒造成了朝鲜大约100万人死亡。在五月份，联合国报道称朝鲜饥饿人口数量比二十年前增加了两倍多。2014年饥饿人口数量从1990年的480万人上升到了1050万人。

The WFP's Ms. Jones said her agency is ready to give the North aid if the situation gets worse. She said the WFP is "closely monitoring" the situation and "is ready to assist," if needed.

世界粮食计划署的Jones说如果情形愈加恶劣，她的机构会考虑向朝鲜提供援助。她说世界粮食计划署会密切关注旱情，如有需要，时刻准备援助。

The U.N. food agency will continue the current humanitarian work in North Korea. The work was supposed to end in June. The agency needs $28 million to continue its work until the end of the year.

联合国粮农组织在朝鲜的人道主义工作将继续进行。这项工作原计划在六月底结束。该机构需要2800万美元继续完成下半年到今年年底的工作。

However, she said, "If the dry spell causes a spike in malnutrition then the funding situation will become even more critical."

然而，她说，如果干旱导致营养不良情况发生，那么资金问题将会至关重要。

Also last week, China said it would help its neighbor and ally. "China is willing to provide the aid that is needed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," a spokesman for China's Foreign Ministry, told reporters.

同时，上周时候，中国方面称其愿意向邻国和同盟伸出援助之手。如果朝鲜方面有需求的话中国愿意提供帮助。中国外交部发言人对记者这样讲。

The United States, however, said it has no plans to provide humanitarian aid to the North.

然而美国称并没有向朝鲜提供人道主义援助的计划。

"The United States remains deeply concerned about the well-being of the North Korean people," said a State Department spokesman. "The United States has no plans to provide humanitarian assistance to North Korea at this time, nor has North Korea requested U.S. assistance."

美国依然非常关心朝鲜人民的生活，美国国务院发言人说。但是美国没有此次没有向朝鲜提供人道主义援助的计划，朝鲜方面也没有向美国要求提供援助。

I'm Anne Ball.

VOA's Hyunjin Kim and Jee Abbey Lee reported this story. Anne Ball wrote it for Learning English with additional information from Reuters. Hai Do was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time when there is very little or no rain

famine –n. a situation in which many people do not have enough food to eat

spike –n. a sudden, rapid increase in something

malnutrition –n. unhealthy condition from not getting enough to eat